I 


MY  MEMORIES 

OF 

EIGHTY  YEARS 

CHADNCEYM.DEPEW 


LIBRARY 

OF 

DAVIS 


MY  MEMORIES  OF 
EIGHTY  YEARS 


MY  MEMORIES  OF 
EIGHTY  YEARS 


BY 

CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1924 


COPYRIGHT,  1921, 1922,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO   MY  WIFE 

MAY  PALMER  DEPEW 

THIS  BOOK  GREW  FROM  HER 
ENCOURAGEMENT 


FOREWORD 

For  many  years  my  friends  have  insisted  upon  my 
putting  in  permanent  form  the  incidents  in  my  life  which 
have  interested  them.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to 
take  part  in  history-making  meetings  and  to  know  more 
or  less  intimately  people  prominent  in  world  affairs  in 
many  countries.  Every  one  so  situated  has  a  flood  of 
recollections  which  pour  out  when  occasion  stirs  the 
memory.  Often  the  listeners  wish  these  transcribed  for 
their  own  use. 

My  classmate  at  Yale  hi  the  class  of  1856,  John  D. 
Champlm,  a  man  of  letters  and  an  accomplished  editor, 
rescued  from  my  own  scattered  records  and  newspaper 
files  material  for  eight  volumes.  My  secretary  has 
selected  and  compiled  for  publication  two  volumes  since. 
These  are  principally  speeches,  addresses,  and  contribu 
tions  which  have  appeared  in  public.  Several  writers, 
without  my  knowledge,  have  selected  special  matter 
from  these  volumes  and  made  books. 

Andrew  D.  White,  Senator  Hoar,  and  Senator  Foraker, 
with  whom  I  was  associated  for  years,  have  published 
full  and  valuable  autobiographies.  I  do  not  attempt 
anything  so  elaborate  or  complete.  Never  having  kept 
a  diary,  I  am  dependent  upon  a  good  memory.  I  have 


viii  FOREWORD 

discarded  the  stories  which  could  not  well  be  published 
until  long  after  I  have  joined  the  majority. 

I  trust  and  earnestly  hope  there  is  nothing  in  these 
recollections  which  can  offend  anybody.  It  has  been 
my  object  so  to  picture  events  and  narrate  stories  as  to 
illumine  the  periods  through  which  I  have  passed  for 
eighty-eight  years,  and  the  people  whom  I  have  known 

and  mightily  enjoyed. 

C  M.  D. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH 3 

II.  IN  PUBLIC  LIFE 17 

III.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 52 

IV.  GENERAL  GRANT 67 

V.  ROSCOE   CONKLING 75 

VI.  HORACE  GREELEY 87 

VII.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES  AND  WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS  99 

VIII.  GENERAL  GARFIELD 107 

IX.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 116 

X.  GROVER  CLEVELAND 124 

XI.  BENJAMIN  HARRISON 129 

XII.  JAMES  G.  BLAINE 141 

XIII.  WILLIAM  McKiNLEY 147 

XIV.  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 158 

XV.  UNITED  STATES  SENATE 175 

XVI.  AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS 191 

XVII.  GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE 209 


x  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XVIII.     FIFTY-SIX  YEARS  WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL 

RAILROAD  COMPANY 225 

XIX.     RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD 256 

XX.    ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS 313 

XXI.     NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  CONVENTIONS      ....  339 

XXII.    JOURNALISTS  AND  FINANCIERS 344 

XXIII.  ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS 358 

XXIV.  SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS 374 

INDEX 411 


MY  MEMORIES  OF 
EIGHTY  YEARS 


I 

CHILDHOOD   AND  YOUTH 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  some  reminiscences  of  a 
long  life  would  be  of  interest  to  my  family  and  friends. 

My  memory  goes  back  for  more  than  eighty  years.  I 
recall  distinctly  when  about  five  years  old  my  mother 
took  me  to  the  school  of  Mrs.  Westbrook,  wife  of  the 
well-known  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  who 
had  a  school  in  her  house,  within  a  few  doors.  The  lady 
was  a  highly  educated  woman,  and  her  husband,  Doctor 
Westbrook,  a  man  of  letters  as  well  as  a  preacher.  He 
specialized  in  ancient  history,  and  the  interest  he  aroused 
in  Roman  and  Greek  culture  and  achievements  has  con 
tinued  with  me  ever  since. 

The  village  of  Peekskill  at  that  time  had  between  two 
and  three  thousand  inhabitants.  Its  people  were  nearly 
all  Revolutionary  families  who  had  settled  there  in 
colonial  times.  There  had  been  very  little  immigration 
either  from  other  States  or  abroad;  acquaintance  was 
universal,  and  in  the  activities  of  the  churches  there  was 
general  co-operation  among  the  members.  Church*  at 
tendance  was  so  unanimous  that  people,  young  or  old, 
who  failed  to  be  in  their  accustomed  places  on  Sunday 
felt  the  disapproval  of  the  community. 

Social  activities  of  the  village  were  very  simple,  but 
very  delightful  and  healthful.  There  were  no  very  rich 
nor  very  poor.  Nearly  every  family  owned  its  own 
house  or  was  on  the  way  to  acquire  one.  Misfortune  of 
any  kind  aroused  common  interest  and  sympathy.  A 

3 


4  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

helping  hand  of  neighborliness  was  always  extended  to 
those  in  trouble  or  distress.  Peekskill  was  a  happy 
community  and  presented  conditions  of  life  and  living  of 
common  interest,  endeavor,  and  sympathy  not  possible 
in  these  days  of  restless  crowds  and  fierce  competition. 

The  Peekskill  Academy  was  the  dominant  educational 
institution,  and  drew  students  not  only  from  the  village 
but  from  a  distance.  It  fitted  them  for  college,  and  I 
was  a  student  there  for  about  twelve  years.  The  acad 
emy  was  a  character-making  institution,  though  it 
lacked  the  thoroughness  of  the  New  England  preparatory 
schools.  Its  graduates  entering  into  the  professions  or 
business  had  an  unusual  record  of  success  in  life.  I  do 
not  mean  that  they  accumulated  great  fortunes,  but 
they  acquired  independence  and  were  prominent  and 
useful  citizens  in  all  localities  where  they  settled. 

I  graduated  from  the  Peekskill  Academy  in  1852.  I 
find  on  the  programme  of  the  exercises  of  that  day, 
which  some  old  student  preserved,  that  I  was  down  for 
several  original  speeches,  while  the  other  boys  had 
mainly  recitations.  Apparently  my  teachers  had  de 
cided  to  develop  any  oratorical  talent  I  might  possess. 

I  entered  Yale  in  1852  and  graduated  in  1856.  The 
college  of  that  period  was  very  primitive  compared  with 
the  university  to  which  it  has  grown.  Our  class  of 
ninety-seven  was  regarded  as  unusually  large.  The 
classics  and  mathematics,  Greek  and  Latin,  were  the 
dominant  features  of  instruction.  Athletics  had  not  yet 
appeared,  though  rowing  and  boat-racing  came  in  dur 
ing  my  term.  The  outstanding  feature  of  the  institu 
tion  was  the  literary  societies:  the  Linonia  and  the 
Brothers  of  Unity.  The  debates  at  the  weekly  meetings 
were  kept  up  and  maintained  upon  a  high  and  efficient 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  5 

plane.  Both  societies  were  practically  deliberative  bod 
ies  and  discussed  with  vigor  the  current  questions  of  the 
day.  Under  this  training  Yale  sent  out  an  unusual 
number  of  men  who  became  eloquent  preachers,  distin 
guished  physicians,  and  famous  lawyers.  While  the  ma 
jority  of  students  now  on  leaving  college  enter  business 
or  professions  like  engineering,  which  is  allied  to  busi 
ness,  at  that  time  nearly  every  young  man  was  destined 
for  the  ministry,  law,  or  medicine.  My  own  class  fur 
nished  two  of  the  nine  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  large  majority  of  those  who 
were  admitted  to  the  bar  attained  judicial  honors.  It  is 
a  singular  commentary  on  the  education  of  that  time 
that  the  students  who  won  the  highest  honors  and  car 
ried  off  the  college  prizes,  which  could  only  be  done  by 
excelling  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  were  far 
outstripped  in  after-life  by  their  classmates  who  fell 
below  their  high  standard  of  collegiate  scholarship  but 
were  distinguished  for  an  all-around  interest  in  subjects 
not  features  in  the  college  curriculum. 

My  classmates,  Justice  David  J.  Brewer  and  Justice 
Henry  Billings  Brown,  were  both  eminent  members  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Brewer  was 
distinguished  for  the  wide  range  of  his  learning  and 
illuminating  addresses  on  public  occasions.  He  was  bi 
centennial  orator  of  the  college  and  a  most  acceptable 
one.  Wayne  MacVeagh,  afterwards  attorney-general  of 
the  United  States,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  bar,  also 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  orators  of  his  time,  was  in  col 
lege  with  me,  though  not  a  classmate.  Andrew  D. 
White,  whose  genius,  scholarship,  and  organization  en 
abled  Ezra  Cornell  to  found  Cornell  University,  was 
another  of  my  college  mates.  He  became  one  of  the 


6  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

most  famous  of  our  diplomats  and  the  author  of  many 
books  of  permanent  value.  My  friendship  with  Mac- 
Veagh  and  White  continued  during  their  lives,  that  is, 
for  nearly  sixty  years.  MacVeagh  was  one  of  the  readi 
est  and  most  attractive  of  speakers  I  ever  knew.  He 
had  a  very  sharp  and  caustic  wit,  which  made  him 
exceedingly  popular  as  an  after-dinner  speaker  and  as  a 
host  in  his  own  house.  He  made  every  evening  when  he 
entertained,  for  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  be 
his  guests,  an  occasion  memorable  in  their  experience. 

John  Mason  Brown,  of  Kentucky,  became  afterwards 
the  leader  of  the  bar  in  his  State,  and  was  about  to 
receive  from  President  Harrison  an  appointment: as  jus 
tice  of  the  Supreme  Court  when  he  died  suddenly.  If  he 
had  been  appointed  it  would  have  been  a  remarkable 
circumstance  that  three  out  of  nine  judges  of  the  great 
est  of  courts,  an  honor  which  is  sought  by  every  one  of 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lawyers  in  the  United 
States,  should  have  been  from  the  same  college  and  the 
same  class. 

The  faculty  lingers  in  my  memory,  and  I  have  the 
same  reverence  and  affection  for  its  members,  though 
sixty-five  years  out  of  college,  that  I  had  the  day  I  grad 
uated.  Our  president,  Theodore  D.  Woolsey,  was  a 
wonderful  scholar  and  a  most  inspiring  teacher.  Yale 
has  always  been  fortunate  in  her  presidents,  and  pecu 
liarly  so  in  Professor  Woolsey.  He  had  personal  distinc 
tion,  and  there  was  about  him  an  air  of  authority  and 
reserved  power  which  awed  the  most  radical  and  rebel 
lious  student,  and  at  the  same  time  he  had  the  respect 
and  affection  of  all.  In  his  historical  lectures  he  had  a 
standard  joke  on  the  Chinese,  the  narration  of  which 
amused  him  the  more  with  each  repetition.  It  was  that 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  7 

when  a  Chinese  army  was  beleaguered  and  besieged  in  a 
fortress  their  provisions  gave  out  and  they  decided  to 
escape.  They  selected  a  very  dark  night,  threw  open 
the  gates,  and  as  they  marched  out  each  soldier  carried 
a  lighted  lantern. 

In  the  faculty  were  several  professors  of  remarkable 
force  and  originality.  The  professor  of  Greek,  Mr. 
Hadley,  father  of  the  distinguished  ex-president  of  Yale, 
was  more  than  his  colleagues  in  the  thought  and  talk 
of  the  undergraduates.  His  learning  and  pre-eminence 
in  his  department  were  universally  admitted.  He  had  a 
caustic  wit  and  his  sayings  were  the  current  talk  of  the 
campus.  He  maintained  discipline,  which  was  quite  lax 
in  those  days,  by  the  exercise  of  this  ability.  Some  of 
the  boys  once  drove  a  calf  into  the  recitation-room. 
Professor  Hadley  quietly  remarked:  "You  will  take  out 
that  animal.  We  will  get  along  to-day  with  our  usual 
number."  It  is  needless  to  say  that  no  such  experiment 
was  ever  repeated. 

At  one  time  there  was  brought  up  in  the  faculty  meet 
ing  a  report  that  one  of  the  secret  societies  was  about  to 
bore  an  artesian  well  in  the  cellar  of  their  club  house. 
It  was  suggested  that  such  an  extraordinary  expense 
should  be  prohibited.  Professor  Hadley  closed  the  dis 
cussion  and  laughed  out  the  subject  by  saying  from  what 
he  knew  of  the  society,  if  it  would  hold  a  few  sessions 
over  the  place  where  the  artesian  well  was  projected,  the 
boring  would  be  accomplished  without  cost.  The  pro 
fessor  was  a  sympathetic  and  very  wise  adviser  to  the 
students.  If  any  one  was  in  trouble  he  would  always 
go  to  him  and  give  most  helpful  relief. 

Professor  Larned  inspired  among  the  students  a  dis 
criminating  taste  for  the  best  English  literature  and  an 


8  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

ardent  love  for  its  classics.  Professor  Thacher  was  one 
of  the  most  robust  and  vigorous  thinkers  and  teachers  of 
his  period.  He  was  a  born  leader  of  men,  and  genera 
tion  after  generation  of  students  who  graduated  carried 
into  after-life  the  effects  of  his  teaching  and  personality. 
We  all  loved  Professor  Olmstead,  though  we  were  not 
vitally  interested  in  his  department  of  physics  and  biol 
ogy.  He  was  a  purist  in  his  department,  and  so  confi 
dent  of  his  principles  that  he  thought  it  unnecessary  to 
submit  them  to  practical  tests.  One  of  the  students, 
whose  room  was  immediately  over  that  of  the  professor, 
took  up  a  plank  from  the  flooring,  and  by  boring  a  very 
small  hole  in  the  ceiling  found  that  he  could  read  the 
examination  papers  on  the  professor's  desk.  The  in 
formation  of  this  reaching  the  faculty,  the  professor  was 
asked  if  he  had  examined  the  ceiling.  He  said  that  was 
unnecessary,  because  he  had  measured  the  distance  be 
tween  the  ceiling  and  the  surface  of  his  desk  and  found 
that  the  line  of  vision  connected  so  far  above  that  noth 
ing  could  be  read  on  the  desk. 

Timothy  Dwight,  afterwards  president,  was  then  a 
tutor.  Learning,  common  sense,  magnetism,  and  all- 
around  good-fellowship  were  wonderfully  united  in  Presi 
dent  Dwight.  He  was  the  most  popular  instructor  and 
best  loved  by  the  boys.  He  had  a  remarkable  talent  for 
organization,  which  made  him  an  ideal  president.  He 
possessed  the  rare  faculty  of  commanding  and  convincing 
not  only  the  students  but  his  associates  in  the  faculty 
and  the  members  of  the  corporation  when  discussing  and 
deciding  upon  business  propositions  and  questions  of 
policy. 

The  final  examinations  over,  commencement  day 
arrived.  The  literary  exercises  and  the  conferring  of  de- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  9 

grees  took  place  in  the  old  Center  Church.  I  was  one  of 
the  speakers  and  selected  for  my  subject  "The  Hudson 
River  and  Its  Traditions."  I  was  saturated  from  early 
association  and  close  investigation  and  reading  with  the 
crises  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  which  were  successfully 
decided  on  the  patriots'  side  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  < 
I  lived  near  Washington  Irving,  and  his  works  I  knew 
by  heart,  especially  the  tales  which  gave  to  the  Hudson 
a  romance  like  the  Rhine's.  The  subject  was  new  for 
an  academic  stage,  and  the  speech  made  a  hit.  Never 
theless,  it  was  the  saddest  and  most  regretful  day  of  my 
life  when  I  left  Yale. 

My  education,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  time, 
was  completed,  and  my  diploma  was  its  evidence.  It 
has  been  a  very  interesting  question  with  me  how  much 
the  academy  and  the  college  contributed  to  that  educa 
tion.  Their  discipline  was  necessary  and  their  training 
essential.  Four  years  of  association  with  the  faculty, 
learned,  finely  equipped,  and  sympathetic,  was  a  won 
derful  help.  The  free  associations  of  the  secret  and  de 
bating  societies,  the  campus,  and  the  sports  were  invalu 
able,  and  the  friendships  formed  with  congenial  spirits 
added  immensely  to  the  pleasures  and  compensations  of 
a  long  life. 

In  connection  with  this  I  may  add  that,  as  it  has  been 
my  lot  in  the  peculiar  position  which  I  have  occupied  for 
more  than  half  a  century  as  counsel  and  adviser  for  a 
great  corporation  and  its  creators  and  the  many  suc 
cessful  men  of  business  who  have  surrounded  them,  I 
have  learned  to  know  how  men  who  have  been  denied 
in  their  youth  the  opportunities  for  education  feel  when 
they  are  in  possession  of  fortunes,  and  the  world  seems 
at  their  feet.  Then  they  painfully  recognize  their  limi- 


io  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

tations,  then  they  know  their  weakness,  then  they  under 
stand  that  there  are  things  which  money  cannot  buy, 
and  that  there  are  gratifications  and  triumphs  which  no 
fortune  can  secure.  The  one  lament  of  all  those  men 
has  been:  "Oh,  if  I  had  been  educated!  I  would  sacri 
fice  all  that  I  have  to  obtain  the  opportunities  of  the 
college,  to  be  able  to  sustain  not  only  conversation  and 
discussion  with  the  educated  men  with  whom  I  come  in 
contact,  but  competent  also  to  enjoy  what  I  see  is  a 
delight  to  them  beyond  anything  which  I  know." 

But  I  recall  gratefully  other  influences  quite  as  impor 
tant  to  one's  education.  My  father  was  a  typical  busi 
ness  man,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  river  transportation  be 
tween  our  village  and  New  York,  and  also  a  farmer  and 
a  merchant.  He  was  a  stern  man  devoted  to  his  family, 
and,  while  a  strict  disciplinarian,  very  fond  of  his 
children. 

My  mother  was  a  woman  of  unusual  intellect  border 
ing  upon  genius.  There  were  no  means  of  higher  educa 
tion  at  that  period,  but  her  father,  who  was  an  eminent 
lawyer,  and  her  grandfather,  a  judge,  finding  her  so 
receptive,  educated  her  with  the  care  that  was  given  to 
boys  who  were  intended  for  a  professional  life.  She  was 
well  versed  in  the  literature  of  the  time  of  Queen  Eliza 
beth  and  Queen  Anne,  and,  with  a  retentive  memory, 
knew  by  heart  many  of  the  English  classics.  She  wrote 
well,  but  never  for  publication.  Added  to  these  accom 
plishments  were  rare  good  sense  and  prophetic  vision. 
The  foundation  and  much  of  the  superstructure  of  all 
that  I  have  and  all  that  I  am  were  her  work.  She  was  a 
rigid  Calvinist,  and  one  of  her  many  lessons  has  been  of 
inestimable  comfort  to  me.  Several  times  in  my  life  I 
have  met  with  heavy  misfortunes  and  what  seemed  irrep- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  u 

arable  losses.  I  have  returned  home  to  find  my  mother 
with  wise  advice  and  suggestions  ready  to  devote  her 
self  to  the  reconstruction  of  my  fortune,  and  to  brace  me 
up.  She  always  said  what  she  thoroughly  believed: 
"My  son,  this  which  you  think  so  great  a  calamity  is 
really  divine  discipline.  The  Lord  has  sent  it  to  you 
for  your  own  good,  because  in  His  infinite  wisdom  He 
saw  that  you  needed  it.  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  if 
you  submit  instead  of  repining  and  protesting,  if  you 
will  ask  with  faith  and  proper  spirit  for  guidance  and 
help,  they  both  will  come  to  you  and  with  greater  bless 
ings  than  you  ever  had  before."  That  faith  of  my 
mother  inspired  and  intensified  my  efforts  and  in  every 
instance  her  predictions  proved  true. 

Every  community  has  a  public-spirited  citizen  who 
unselfishly  devotes  himself  or  herself  to  the  public  good. 
That  citizen  of  Peekskill  in  those  early  days  was  Doctor 
James  Brewer.  He  had  accumulated  a  modest  compe 
tence  sufficient  for  his  simple  needs  as  bachelor.  He  was 
either  the  promoter  or  among  the  leaders  of  all  the 
movements  for  betterment  of  the  town.  He  established 
a  circulating  library  upon  most  liberal  terms,  and  it 
became  an  educational  institution  of  benefit.  The  books 
were  admirably  selected,  and  the  doctor's  advice  to  read 
ers  was  always  available.  His  taste  ran  to  the  English 
classics,  and  he  had  all  the  standard  authors  in  poetry, 
history,  fiction,  and  essay. 

No  pleasure  derived  in  reading  ir\  after-years  gave  me 
such  delight  as  the  Waverley  Novels.  I  think  I  read 
through  that  library  and  some  of  it  several  times  over. 

The  excitement  as  the  novels  of  Dickens  and  Thack 
eray  began  to  appear  equalled  almost  the  enthusiasm  of 
a  political  campaign.  Each  one  of  those  authors  had 


12  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

ardent  admirers  and  partisans.  The  characters  of  Dick 
ens  became  household  companions.  Every  one  was 
looking  for  the  counterpart  of  Micawber  or  Sam  Weller, 
Pecksniff  or  David  Copperfield,  and  had  little  trouble 
in  finding  them  either  in  the  family  circle  or  among  the 
neighbors. 

Dickens's  lectures  in  New  York,  which  consisted  of 
readings  from  his  novels,  were  an  event  which  has  rarely 
been  duplicated  for  interest.  With  high  dramatic  ability 
he  brought  out  before  the  audience  the  characters  from 
his  novels  with  whom  all  were  familiar.  Every  one  in 
the  crowd  had  an  idealistic  picture  in  his  mind  of  the 
actors  of  the  story.  It  was  curious  to  note  that  the 
presentation  which  the  author  gave  coincided  with  the 
idea  of  the  majority  of  his  audience.  I  was  fresh  from 
the  country  but  had  with  me  that  evening  a  rather  ultra- 
fashionable  young  lady.  She  said  she  was  not  inter 
ested  in  the  lecture  because  it  represented  the  sort  of 
people  she  did  not  know  and  never  expected  to  meet; 
they  were  a  very  common  lot.  In  her  subsequent  career 
in  this  country  and  abroad  she  had  to  her  credit  three 
matrimonial  adventures  and  two  divorces,  but  none  of 
her  husbands  were  01  the  common  lot. 

Speaking  of  Dickens,  one  picture  remains  indelibly 
pressed  upon  my  memory.  It  was  the  banquet  given 
him  at  which  Horace  Greeley  presided.  Everybody  was 
as  familiar  with  Mr.  Pickwick  and  his  portrait  by  Cruik- 
shank  in  Dickens's  works  as  with  one's  father.  When 
Mr.  Greeley  arose  to  make  the  opening  speech  and  in 
troduce  the  guest  of  the  evening,  his  likeness  to  this 
portrait  of  Pickwick  was  so  remarkable  that  the  whole 
audience,  including  Mr.  Dickens,  shouted  their  delight 
in  greeting  an  old  and  well-beloved  friend. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  13 

Another  educational  opportunity  came  in  my  way  be 
cause  one  of  my  uncles  was  postmaster  of  the  village. 
Through  his  post-office  came  several  high-class  maga 
zines  and  foreign  reviews.  There  was  no  rural  delivery 
in  those  days,  and  the  mail  could  only  be  had  on  per 
sonal  application,  and  the  result  was  that  the  subscribers 
of  these  periodicals  frequently  left  them  a  long  time  be 
fore  they  were  called  for.  I  was  an  omnivorous  reader 
of  everything  available,  and  as  a  result  these  publica 
tions,  especially  the  foreign  reviews,  became  a  fascinat 
ing  source  of  information  and  culture.  They  gave  from 
the  first  minds  of  the  century  criticisms  of  current  litera 
ture  and  expositions  of  political  movements  and  public 
men  which  became  of  infinite  value  in  after-years. 

Another  unincorporated  and  yet  valuable  school  was 
the  frequent  sessions  at  the  drug  store  of  the  elder  states 
men  of  the  village.  On  certain  evenings  these  men,  rep 
resenting  most  of  the  activities  of  the  village,  would 
avail  themselves  of  the  hospitable  chairs  about  the  stove 
and  discuss  not  only  local  matters  but  the  general  con 
ditions  of  the  country,  some  of  them  revolving  about 
the  constitutionality  of  various  measures  which  had 
been  proposed  and  enacted  into  laws.  They  nearly  all 
related  to  slavery,  the  compromise  measures,  the  intro 
duction  of  slaves  into  new  territories,  the  fugitive  slave 
law,  and  were  discussed  with  much  intelligence  and  in 
formation.  The  boys  heard  them  talked  about  in  their 
homes  and  were  eager  listeners  on  the  outskirts  of  this 
village  congress.  Such  institutions  are  not  possible  ex 
cept  hi  the  universal  acquaintance,  fellowship,  and  con 
fidences  of  village  and  country  life.  They  were  the 
most  important  factors  in  forming  that  public  opinion, 
especially  among  the  young,  which  supported  Mr.  Lincoln 


14  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  his  successful  efforts  to  save  the  Union  at  whatever 
cost. 

A  few  days  after  returning  home  from  Yale  I  entered 
the  office  of  Edward  Wells,  a  lawyer  of  the  village,  as  a 
student.  Mr.  Wells  had  attained  high  rank  in  his  pro 
fession,  was  a  profound  student  of  the  law,  and  had  a 
number  of  young  men,  fitting  them  for  the  bar  under 
his  direction. 

I  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858,  and  immediately 
opened  an  office  in  the  village.  My  first  client  was  a 
prosperous  farmer  who  wanted  an  opinion  on  a  rather 
complicated  question.  I  prepared  the  case  with  great 
care.  He  asked  me  what  my  fee  was,  and  I  told  him 
five  dollars.  He  said:  "A  dollar  and  seventy-five  is 
enough  for  a  young  lawyer  like  you/'  Subsequently  he 
submitted  the  case  to  one  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in 
New  York,  who  came  to  the  same  conclusion  and  charged 
him  five  hundred  dollars.  On  account  of  this  gentle 
man's  national  reputation  the  farmer  thought  that  fee 
was  very  reasonable.  In  subsequent  years  I  have  re 
ceived  several  very  large  retainers,  but  none  of  them 
gave  so  much  satisfaction  as  that  dollar  and  seventy-five 
cents,  which  I  had  actually  earned  after  having  been  so 
long  dependent  on  my  father. 

After  some  years  of  private  practice  Commodore  Van- 
derbilt  sent  for  me  and  offered  the  attorneyship  for  the 
New  York  and  Harlem  Railroad.  I  had  just  been  nomi 
nated  and  confirmed  United  States  minister  to  Japan. 
The  appointment  was  a  complete  surprise  to  me,  as  I 
was  not  an  applicant  for  any  federal  position.  The  sal 
ary  was  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  and  an  out 
fit  of  nine  thousand.  The  commodore's  offer  of  the 
attorneyship  for  the  Harlem  Railroad,  which  was  his 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  15 

first  venture  in  railroading,  was  far  less  than  the  salary 
as  minister.  When  I  said  this  to  the  commodore,  he 
remarked:  "Railroads  are  the  career  for  a  young  man; 
there  is  nothing  in  politics.  Don't  be  a  damned  fool." 
That  decided  me,  and  on  the  ist  of  January,  1921,  I 
rounded  out  fifty-five  years  in  the  railway  service  of  this 
corporation  and  its  allied  lines. 

Nothing  has  impressed  me  more  than  little  things,  and 
apparently  immaterial  ones,  which  have  influenced  the 
careers  of  many  people.  My  father  and  his  brothers, 
all  active  business  men,  were  also  deeply  interested  in 
politics,  not  on  the  practical  side  but  in  policies  and  gov 
ernmental  measures.  They  were  uncompromising  Dem 
ocrats  of  the  most  conservative  type;  they  believed  that 
interference  with  slavery  of  any  kind  imperilled  the 
union  of  the  States,  and  that  the  union  of  the  States  was 
the  sole  salvation  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  republic  and 
its  liberties.  I  went  to  Yale  saturated  with  these  ideas. 
Yale  was  a  favorite  college  for  Southern  people.  There 
was  a  large  element  from  the  slaveholding  States  among 
the  students.  It  was  so  considerable  that  these  South 
erners  withdrew  from  the  great  debating  societies  of  the 
college  and  formed  a  society  of  their  own,  which  they 
called  the  Calliopean.  Outside  of  these  Southerners 
there  were  very  few  Democrats  among  the  students,  and 
I  came  very  near  being  drawn  into  the  Calliopean,  but 
happily  escaped. 

The  slavery  question  in  all  its  phases  of  fugitive  slave 
law  and  its  enforcement,  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
the  new  territories,  or  its  prohibition,  and  of  the  aboli 
tion  of  the  institution  by  purchase  or  confiscation  were 
subjects  of  discussion  on  the  campus,  in  the  literary 
societies,  and  in  frequent  lectures  in  the  halls  in  New 


16  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

Haven  by  the  most  prominent  and  gifted  speakers  and 
advocates. 

That  was  a  period  when  even  in  the  most  liberal 
churches  the  pulpit  was  not  permitted  to  preach  politics, 
and  slavery  was  pre-eminently  politics.  But  according 
to  an  old  New  England  custom,  the  pastor  was  given  a 
free  hand  on  Thanksgiving  Day  to  unburden  his  mind 
of  everything  which  had  been  bubbling  and  seething 
there  for  a  year.  One  of  the  most  eminent  and  eloquent 
of  New  England  preachers  was  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Bacon,  of  Center  Church,  New  Haven.  His  Thanks 
giving  sermon  was  an  event  eagerly  anticipated  by  the 
whole  college  community.  He  was  violently  anti- 
slavery.  His  sermons  were  not  only  intently  listened 
to  but  widely  read,  and  their  effect  in  promoting  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  was  very  great. 

The  result  of  several  years  of  these  associations  and 
discussions  converted  me,  and  I  became  a  Republican  on 
the  principles  enunciated  in  the  first  platform  of  the 
party  in  1856.  When  I  came  home  from  Yale  the  situa 
tion  in  the  family  became  very  painful,  because  my 
father  was  an  intense  partisan.  He  had  for  his  party 
both  faith  and  love,  and  was  shocked  and  grieved  at  his 
son's  change  of  principles.  He  could  not  avoid  con 
stantly  discussing  the  question,  and  was  equally  hurt 
either  by  opposition  or  silence. 


II 

IN   PUBLIC  LIFE 

The  campaign  of  1856  created  an  excitement  in  our 
village  which  had  never  been  known  since  the  Revo 
lutionary  War.  The  old  families  who  had  been  settled 
there  since  colonial  days  were  mainly  pro-slavery  and 
Democratic,  while  the  Republican  party  was  recruited 
very  largely  from  New  England  men  and  in  a  minority. 

Several  times  in  our  national  political  campaigns  there 
has  been  one  orator  who  drew  audiences  and  received 
public  attention  and  reports  in  the  newspapers  beyond 
all  other  speakers.  On  the  Democratic  side  during  that 
period  Horatio  Seymour  was  pre-eminent.  On  the  Re 
publican  side  in  the  State  of  New  York  the  attractive 
figure  was  George  William  Curtis.  His  books  were  very 
popular,  his  charming  personality,  the  culture  and  the 
elevation  of  his  speeches  put  him  in  a  class  by  himself. 

The  Republicans  of  the  village  were  highly  elated 
when  they  had  secured  the  promise  of  Mr.  Curtis  to 
speak  at  their  most  important  mass  meeting.  The  occa 
sion  drew  together  the  largest  audience  the  village  had 
known,  composed  not  only  of  residents  but  many  from 
a  distance.  The  committee  of  arrangements  finally  re 
ported  to  the  waiting  audience  that  the  last  train  had 
arrived,  but  Mr.  Curtis  had  not  come. 

It  suddenly  occurred  to  the  committee  that  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  to  call  a  young  recruit  from  a  well- 
known  Democratic  family  and  publicly  commit  him. 
First  came  the  invitation,  then  the  shouting,  and  when  I 

17 


i8  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

arose  they  cried  "platform/'  and  I  was  escorted  to  the 
platform,  but  had  no  idea  of  making  a  speech.  My 
experience  for  years  at  college  and  at  home  had  saturated 
me  with  the  questions  at  issue  in  all  their  aspects.  From 
a  full  heart,  and  a  sore  one,  I  poured  out  a  confession  of 
faith.  I  thought  I  had  spoken  only  a  few  minutes,  but 
found  afterwards  that  it  was  over  an  hour.  The  local 
committee  wrote  to  the  State  committee  about  the  meet 
ing,  and  in  a  few  days  I  received  a  letter  from  the  chair 
man  of  the  State  committee  inviting  me  to  fill  a  series  of 
engagements  covering  the  whole  State  of  New  York. 

The  campaign  of  1856  differed  from  all  others  in  mem 
ory  of  men  then  living.  The  issues  between  the  parties 
appealed  on  the  Republican  side  to  the  young.  There 
had  grown  up  among  the  young  voters  an  intense  hos 
tility  to  slavery.  The  moral  force  of  the  arguments 
against  the  institution  captured  them.  They  had  no 
hostility  to  the  South,  nor  to  the  Southern  slaveholders; 
they  regarded  their  position  as  an  inheritance,  and  were 
willing  to  help  on  the  lines  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  original  idea 
of  purchasing  the  slaves  and  freeing  them.  But  the 
suggestion  had  no  friends  among  the  slaveholders. 
These  young  men  believed  that  any  extension  or 
strengthening  of  the  institution  would  be  disastrous  to 
the  country.  The  threatened  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
secession,  or  rebellion  did  not  frighten  them. 

Political  conventions  are  the  most  interesting  of  popu 
lar  gatherings.  The  members  have  been  delegated  by 
their  fellow  citizens  to  represent  them,  and  they  are 
above  the  average  in  intelligence,  political  information  of 
conditions  in  the  State  and  nation,  as  the  convention 
represents  the  State  or  the  republic.  'The  belief  that 
they  are  generally  boss-governed  is  a  mistake.  The 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  19 

party  leader,  sometimes  designated  as  boss,  invariably 
consults  with  the  strongest  men  there  are  in  the  conven 
tion  before  he  arrives  at  a  decision.  He  is  generally 
successful,  because  he  has  so  well  prepared  the  way,  and 
his  own  judgment  is  always  modified  and  frequently 
changed  in  these  conferences. 

In  1858  I  had  the  first  sensation  of  the  responsibility 
of  public  office.  I  was  not  an  applicant  for  the  place; 
in  fact,  knew  nothing  about  it  until  I  was  elected  a  dele 
gate  to  the  Republican  State  convention  from  the  third 
assembly  district  of  Westchester  County.  The  conven 
tion  was  held  at  Syracuse.  The  Westchester  delegates 
arrived  late  at  night  or,  rather,  early  in  the  morning, 
and  we  came  to  the  hotel  with  large  numbers  of  other 
delegates  from  different  sections  who  had  arrived  on  the 
same  train.  It  was  two  o'clock,  but  the  State  leader, 
Thurlow  Weed,  was  in  the  lobby  of  the  hotel  to  greet 
the  delegates.  He  said  to  me:  "You  are  from  Peeks- 
kill.  With  whom  are  you  studying  law?"  I  answered: 
"With  Judge  William  Nelson/5  "Oh,"  he  remarked,  "I 
remember  Judge  Nelson  well.  He  was  very  active  in 
the  campaign  of  1828."  It  was  a  feat  of  memory  to 
thus  recall  the  usefulness  of  a  local  politician  thirty 
years  before.  I  noticed,  as  each  delegate  was  intro 
duced,  that  Mr.  Weed  had  some  neighborhood  recollec 
tions  of  the  man  which  put  a  tag  on  him. 

The  next  day,  as  we  met  the  leader,  he  recalled  us  by 
name,  the  places  where  we  lived,  and  the  districts  rep 
resented.  Mr.  Elaine  was  the  only  other  man  I  ever 
met  or  knew  who  possessed  this  extraordinary  gift  for 
party  leadership. 

There  was  a  revolt  in  the  convention  among  the  young 
members,  who  had  a  candidate  of  their  own.  Mr. 


20  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

Weed's  candidate  for  governor  was  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  a 
successful  New  York  merchant,  who  had  made  a  good 
record  as  a  State  senator.  I  ^  remember  one  of  Mr. 
Weed's  arguments  was  that  the  Democrats  were  in 
power  everywhere  and  could  assess  their  office-holders, 
while  the  Republicans  would  have  to  rely  for  campaign; 
funds  upon  voluntary  contributions,  which  would  come 
nowhere  so  freely  as  from  Mr.  Morgan  and  his  friends. 
When  the  convention  met  Mr.  Weed  had  won  over  a 
large  majority  of  the  delegates  for  his  candidate.  It 
was  a  triumph  not  only  of  his  skill  but  of  his  magnetism, 
which  were  always  successfully  exerted  upon  a  doubtful 
member. 

I  was  elected  to  the  assembly,  the  popular  branch  of 
the  New  York  Legislature,  in  1861.  I  was  nominated 
during  an  absence  from  the  State,  without  being  a  candi 
date  or  knowing  of  it  until  my  return.  Of  course,  I 
could  expect  nothing  from  my  father,  and  my  own  earn 
ings  were  not  large,  so  I  had  to  rely  upon  a  personal 
canvass  of  a  district  which  had  been  largely  spoiled  by 
rich  candidates  running  against  each  other  and  spend 
ing  large  amounts  of  money.  I  made  a  hot  canvass, 
speaking  every  day,  and  with  an  investment  of  less  than 
one  hundred  dollars  for  travel  and  other  expenses  I  was 
triumphantly  elected. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  member  of  the  legislature 
was  the  speaker,  Henry  J.  Raymond.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  I  ever  met.  During  the  ses 
sion  I  became  intimate  with  him,  and  the  better  I  knew 
him  the  more  I  became  impressed  with  his  genius,  the 
variety  of  his  attainments,  the  perfection  of  his  equip 
ment,  and  his  ready  command  of  all  his  powers  and 
resources.  Raymond  was  then  editor  of  the  New  York 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  21 

Times  and  contributed  a  leading  article  every  day.  He 
was  the  best  debater  we  had  and  the  most  convincing. 
I  have  seen  him  often,  when  some  other  member  was  in 
the  chair  of  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  we  were 
discussing  a  critical  question,  take  his  seat  on  the  floor 
and  commence  writing  an  editorial.  As  the  debate  pro 
gressed,  he  would  rise  and  participate.  When  he  had 
made  his  point,  which  he  always  did  with  directness  and 
lucidity,  he  would  resume  writing  his  editorial.  The 
debate  would  usually  end  with  Mr.  Raymond  carrying 
his  point  and  also  finishing  his  editorial,  an  example 
which  seems  to  refute  the  statement  of  metaphysicians 
that  two  parts  of  the  mind  cannot  work  at  the  same 
time. 

Two  years  afterwards,  when  I  was  secretary  of  state, 
I  passed  much  of  my  time  at  Saratoga,  because  it  was 
so  near  Albany.  Mr.  Raymond  was  also  there  writing 
the  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  I  breakfasted  with 
him  frequently  and  found  that  he  had  written  for  an 
hour  or  more  before  breakfast.  He  said  to  me  in  ex 
planation  that  if  one  would  take  an  hour  before  break 
fast  every  morning  and  concentrate  his  mind  upon  his 
subject,  he  would  soon  fill  a  library. 

Mr.  Raymond  had  been  as  a  young  man  a  reporter  in 
the  United  States  Senate.  He  told  me  that,  while  at 
that  time  there  was  no  system  of  shorthand  or  stenogra 
phy,  he  had  devised  a  crude  one  for  himself,  by  which 
he  could  take  down  accurately  any  address  of  a  delib 
erate  speaker. 

Daniel  Webster,  the  most  famous  orator  our  country 
has  ever  produced,  was  very  deliberate  in  his  utter 
ances.  He  soon  discovered  Raymond's  ability,  and  for 
several  years  he  always  had  Raymond  with  him,  and 


22  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

once  said  to  him:  "Except  for  you,  the  world  would 
have  very  few  of  my  speeches.  Your  reports  have  pre 
served  them." 

Mr.  Raymond  told  me  this  story  of  Mr.  Webster's 
remarkable  memory.  Once  he  said  to  Mr.  Webster: 
"You  never  use  notes  and  apparently  have  made  no 
preparation,  yet  you  are  the  only  speaker  I  report  whose 
speeches  are  perfect  in  structure,  language,  and  rhetoric. 
How  is  this  possible?"  Webster  replied:  "It  is  my 
memory.  I  can  prepare  a  speech,  revise  and  correct  it 
in  my  memory,  and  then  deliver  the  corrected  speech 
exactly  as  finished."  I  have  known  most  of  the  great 
orators  of  the  world,  but  none  had  any  approach  to  a 
faculty  like  this,  though  several  could  repeat  after  second 
reading  the  speech  which  they  had  prepared, 

In  1862  I  was  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  assem 
bly.  Political  conditions  had  so  changed  that  they  were 
almost  reversed.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  war  which  had 
carried  the  Republicans  into  power  the  year  before  had 
been  succeeded  by  general  unrest.  Our  armies  had  been 
defeated,  and  industrial  and  commercial  depression  was 
general. 

The  leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  State  was 
Dean  Richmond.  He  was  one  of  those  original  men  of 
great  brain-power,  force,  and  character,  knowledge  of 
men,  and  executive  ability,  of  which  that  period  had  a 
number.  From  the  humblest  beginning  he  had  worked 
his  way  in  politics  to  the  leadership  of  his  party,  to  the 
presidency  of  the  greatest  corporation  in  the  State,  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  in  his  many 
and  successful  adventures  had  accumulated  a  fortune, 
His  foresight  was  almost  a  gift  of  prophecy,  and  his  judg 
ment  was  rarely  wrong.  He  believed  that  the  disasters 


IN   PUBLIC  LIFE  23 

in  the  field  and  the  bad  times  at  home  could  be  charged 
up  to  the  Lincoln  administration  and  lead  to  a  Demo 
cratic  victory.  He  also  believed  that  there  was  only 
one  man  in  the  party  whose  leadership  would  surely 
win,  and  that  man  was  Horatio  Seymour.  But  Seymour 
had  higher  ambitions  than  the  governorship  of  New 
York  and  was  very  reluctant  to  run.  Nevertheless,  he 
could  not  resist  Richmond's  insistence  that  he  must  sac 
rifice  himself,  if  necessary,  to  save  the  party. 

The  Republicans  nominated  General  James  W.  Wads- 
worth  for  governor.  Wadsworth  had  enlisted  at  the  be 
ginning  of  the  war  and  made  a  most  brilliant  record, 
both  as  a  fighting  soldier  and  administrator.  The  Re 
publican  party  was  sharply  divided  between  radicals 
who  insisted  on  immediate  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
and  conservatives  who  thought  the  time  had  not  yet 
arrived  for  such  a  revolution.  The  radicals  were  led  by 
Horace  Greeley,  and  the  conservatives  by  Thurlow  Weed 
and  Henry  J.  Raymond. 

Horatio  Seymour  made  a  brilliant  canvass.  He  had 
no  equal  in  the  State  in  either  party  in  charm  of  person 
ality  and  attractive  oratory.  He  united  his  party  and 
brought  to  its  ranks  all  the  elements  of  unrest  and 
dissatisfaction  with  conditions,  military  and  financial. 
While  General  Wadsworth  was  an  ideal  candidate,  he 
failed  to  get  the  cordial  and  united  support  of  his  party. 
He  represented  its  progressive  tendencies  as  expressed 
and  believed  by  President  Lincoln,  and  was  hostile  to 
reaction.  Under  these  conditions  Governor  Seymour 
carried  the  State. 

The  election  had  reversed  the  overwhelming  Republi 
can  majority  in  the  legislature  of  the  year  before  by 
making  the  assembly  a  tie.  I  was  re-elected,  but  by 


24  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

reduced  majority.  The  assembly  being  a  tie,  it  was 
several  weeks  before  it  could  organize.  I  was  the  can 
didate  in  the  caucus  of  the  Republican  members  for 
speaker,  but  after  the  nomination  one  of  the  members, 
named  Bemus,  threatened  to  bolt  and  vote  for  the 
Democratic  candidate  unless  his  candidate,  Sherwood, 
was  made  the  nominee.  So  many  believed  that  Bemus 
would  carry  out  his  threat,  which  would  give  the  organ 
ization  of  the  House  to  the  Democrats  by  one  majority, 
that  I  withdrew  in  favor  of  Sherwood.  After  voting 
hopelessly  in  a  deadlock,  day  after  day  for  a  long  period, 
a  caucus  of  the  Republican  members  was  called,  at 
which  Sherwood  withdrew,  and  on  his  motion  I  was 
nominated  as  the  party  candidate  for  speaker. 

During  the  night  a  Democratic  member,  T.  C.  Calli- 
cot,  of  Kings  County,  came  to  my  bedroom  and  said: 
"My  ambition  in  life  is  to  be  speaker  of  the  assembly. 
Under  the  law  the  legislature  cannot  elect  the  United 
States  senator  unless  each  House  has  first  made  a  nom 
ination,  then  the  Senate  and  the  House  can  go  into  joint 
convention,  and  a  majority  of  that  convention  elect  a 
senator.  You  Republicans  have  a  majority  in  the  Sen 
ate,  so  that  if  the  House  nominates,  the  legislature  can 
go  into  joint  convention  and  elect  a  Republican  senator. 
As  long  as  the  House  remains  a  tie  this  cannot  be  done. 
Now,  what  I  propose  is  just  this:  Before  we  meet  to 
morrow  morning,  if  you  will  call  your  members  together 
and  nominate  me  for  speaker,  the  vote  of  your  party  and 
I  voting  for  myself  will  elect  me.  Then  I  will  agree  to 
name  General  Dix,  a  Democrat,  for  United  States  sen 
ator,  and  if  your  people  will  all  vote  with  me  for  him  he 
will  be  the  assembly  nominee.  The  Senate  has  already 
nominated  Governor  Morgan.  So  the  next  day  the 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  25 

legislature  can  go  into  joint  convention  and,  having  a 
Republican  majority,  elect  Governor  Morgan  United 
States  senator."  I  told  Mr.  Callicot  that  I  would  pre 
sent  the  matter  to  my  party  associates. 

In  the  early  morning  Saxton  Smith  and  Colonel  John 
Van  Buren,  two  of  the  most  eminent  Democrats  in  the 
State  and  members  of  the  legislature,  came  to  me  and 
said:  "We  know  what  Callicot  has  proposed.  Now,  if 
you  will  reject  that  proposition  we  will  elect  you  speaker 
practically  unanimously." 

This  assured  my  election  for  the  speakership.  I  had 
a  great  ambition  to  be  on  that  roll  of  honor,  and  as  I 
would  have  been  the  youngest  man  ever  elected  to  the 
position,  my  youth  added  to  the  distinction.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  government  at  Washington  needed  an 
experienced  senator  of  its  own  party,  like  Edwin  D. 
Morgan,  who  had  been  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  effi 
cient  of  war  governors,  both  in  furnishing  troops  and 
helping  the  credit  of  the  country.  I  finally  decided  to 
surrender  the  speakership  for  myself  to  gain  the  senator- 
ship  for  my  party.  I  had  difficulty  in  persuading  my 
associates,  but  they  finally  agreed.  Callicot  was  elected 
speaker  and  Edwin  D.  Morgan  United  States  senator. 

The  event  was  so  important  and  excited  so  much  in 
terest,  both  in  the  State  and  in  the  country,  that  rep 
resentative  men  came  to  Albany  in  great  numbers.  The 
rejoicing  and  enthusiasm  were  intense  at  having  secured 
so  unexpectedly  a  United  States  Senator  for  the  support 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration. 

That  night  they  all  united  in  giving  me  a  reception  in 
the  ballroom  of  the  hotel.  There  was  a  flood  of  eulogis 
tic  and  prophetic  oratory.  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
every  form  of  flattery  and  applause,  for  distinguished 


26  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

service  to  the  party.  By  midnight  I  had  been  nomi 
nated  and  elected  Governor  of  the  State,  and  an  hour 
later  I  was  already  a  United  States  senator.  Before  the 
morning  hour  the  presidency  of  the  United  States  was 
impatiently  waiting  for  the  time  when  I  would  be  old 
enough  to  be  eligible.  All  this  was  soon  forgotten.  It 
is  a  common  experience  of  the  instability  of  promises 
and  hopes  which  come  from  gratified  and  happy  enthu 
siasts,  and  how  soon  they  are  dissipated  like  a  dream  !  I 
have  seen  many  such  instances,  and  from  this  early  ex 
perience  deeply  sympathize  with  the  disillusionized  hero. 

The  Democrats  of  the  assembly  and  also  of  the  State 
were  determined  that  Mr.  Callicot  should  not  enjoy  the 
speakership.  They  started  investigations  in  the  House 
and  movements  in  the  courts  to  prevent  him  from  tak 
ing  his  seat.  The  result  was  that  I  became  acting 
speaker  and  continued  as  such  until  Mr.  Callicot  had 
defeated  his  enemies  and  taken  his  place  as  speaker  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  session. 

I  was  also  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means  and  the  leader  of  the  House.  The  budget  of  my 
committee  was  larger  than  usual  on  account  of  the  ex 
penses  of  the  war.  It  was  about  seven  million  dollars. 
It  created  much  more  excitement  and  general  discussion 
than  does  the  present  budget  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
millions.  The  reason  is  the  difference  in  conditions  and 
public  necessities  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  winter 
of  1863  and  now.  It  is  also  partly  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  expenses  of  the  State  had  then  to  be  met 
by  a  real-estate  tax  which  affected  everybody,  while  now 
an  income  tax  has  been  adopted  which  is  capable  of  un 
limited  expansion  and  invites  limitless  extravagance  be 
cause  of  the  comparatively  few  interested. 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  27 

Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  was  an  eventful 
year;  the  early  part  was  full  of  gloom  and  unrest. 
Horatio  Seymour,  as  governor,  violently  antagonized 
President  Lincoln  and  his  policies.  Seymour  was  patri 
otic  and  very  able,  but  he  was  so  saturated  with  State 
rights  and  strict  construction  of  the  Constitution  that 
it  marred  his  judgment  and  clouded  his  usually  clear 
vision.  In  the  critical  situation  of  the  country  Mr. 
Lincoln  saw  the  necessity  of  support  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  president  said:  "The  governor  has 
greater  power  just  now  for  good  than  any  other  man 
in  the  country.  He  can  wheel  the  Democratic  party 
into  line,  put  down  the  rebellion  and  preserve  the  govern 
ment.  Tell  him  from  me  that  if  he  will  render  this  ser 
vice  to  his  country,  I  shall  cheerfully  make  way  for  him 
as  my  successor."  To  this  message,  sent  through  Thur- 
low  Weed,  Governor  Seymour  made  no  reply.  He  did 
not  believe  that  the  South  could  be  defeated  and  the 
Union  preserved. 

Later  President  Lincoln  sent  a  personal  letter  to  the 
governor.  It  was  a  very  human  epistle.  The  president 
wrote:  "You  and  I  are  substantially  strangers,  and  I 
write  this  that  we  may  become  better  acquainted.  In 
the  performance  of  duty  the  co-operation  of  your  State 
is  needed  and  is  indispensable.  This  alone  is  sufficient 
reason  why  I  should  wish  to  be  on  a  good  understanding 
with  you.  Please  write  me  at  least  as  long  a  letter  as 
this,  of  course  saying  in  it  just  what  you  think  fit." 

Governor  Seymour  made  no  reply.  He  and  the  other 
Democratic  leaders  thought  the  president  uncouth,  un 
lettered,  and  very  weak.  The  phrase  "please  write  me 
at  least  as  long  a  letter  as  this5'  produced  an  impression 
upon  the  scholarly,  cultured,  cautious,  and  diplomatic 


28  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Seymour  which  was  most  unfavorable  to  its  author. 
Seymour  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  the  letter  and 
promised  to  make  a  reply,  but  never  did. 

Seymour's  resentment  was  raised  to  fever  heat  when 
General  Burnside,  in  May,  1863,  arrested  Clement  L. 
Vallandigham.  The  enemies  of  the  war  and  peace  at 
any  price  people,  and  those  who  were  discouraged,  called 
mass  meetings  all  over  the  country  to  protest  this  arrest 
as  an  outrage.  A  mass  meeting  was  called  in  Albany 
on  the  1 6th  of  May.  Erastus  Corning,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  Democrats  in  the  State,  presided. 

I  was  in  Albany  at  the  time  and  learned  this  incident. 
One  of  Governor  Seymour's  intimate  friends,  his  adviser 
and  confidant  in  personal  business  affairs  was  Charles 
Cook,  who  had  been  comptroller  of  the  State  and  a 
State  senator.  Cook  was  an  active  Republican,  a  very 
shrewd  and  able  man.  He  called  on  the  governor  and 
tried  to  persuade  him  not  to  write  a  letter  to  the  Val 
landigham  meeting,  but  if  he  felt  he  must  say  some 
thing,  attend  the  meeting  and  make  a  speech.  Cook 
said:  "Governor,  the  country  is  going  to  sustain  ulti 
mately  the  arrest  of  Vallandigham.  It  will  be  proved 
that  he  is  a  traitor  to  the  government  and  a  very  dan 
gerous  man  to  be  at  large.  Whatever  is  said  at  the 
meeting  will  seriously  injure  the  political  future  of  the 
authors.  If  you  write  a  letter  it  will  be  on  record,  so  I 
beg  you,  if  you  must  participate,  attend  the  meeting 
and  make  a  speech.  A  letter  cannot  be  denied;  it  can 
always  be  claimed  that  a  speech  has  been  misreported." 

The  Governor  wrote  the  letter,  one  of  the  most  violent 
of  his  utterances,  and  it  was  used  against  him  with 
fatal  effect  when  he  ran  for  governor,  and  also  when  a 
candidate  for  president. 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  29 

On  July  nth  the  draft  began  in  New  York  City.  It 
had  been  denounced  as  unconstitutional  by  every  shade 
of  opposition  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  and  to  the 
prosecution  of  the  war.  The  attempt  to  enforce  it  led 
to  one  of  the  most  serious  riots  in  the  history  of  the 
city,  and  the  rage  of  the  rioters  was  against  the  officers 
of  the  law,  the  headquarters  of  the  draft  authorities,  and 
principally  against  the  negroes.  Every  negro  who  was 
caught  was  hung  or  burned,  and  the  negro  orphan  asy 
lum  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  governor  did  his  best 
to  stop  the  rioting.  He  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
the  city  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  commanded  obedi 
ence  to  the  law  and  the  authorities. 

In  this  incident  again  the  governor  permitted  his 
opposition  to  the  war  to  lead  him  into  political  indis 
cretion.  He  made  a  speech  from  the  steps  of  the  City 
Hall  to  the  rioters.  He  began  by  addressing  them  as 
"My  friends."  The  governor's  object  was  to  quiet  the 
mob  and  send  them  to  their  homes.  So  instead  of 
saying  "fellow  citizens"  he  used  the  fatal  words  "my 
friends."  No  two  words  were  ever  used  against  a  pub 
lic  man  with  such  fatal  effect.  Every  newspaper  op 
posed  to  the  governor  and  every  orator  would  describe 
the  horrors,  murders,  and  destruction  of  property  by 
the  mob  and  then  say:  "These  are  the  people  whom 
Governor  Seymour  in  his  speech  from  the  steps  of  the 
City  Hall  addressed  as  'my  friends." 

The  Vallandigham  letter  and  this  single  utterance  did 
more  harm  to  Governor  Seymour's  future  ambitions  than 
all  his  many  eloquent  speeches  against  Lincoln's  ad 
ministration  and  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

The  political  situation,  which  had  been  so  desperate 
for  the  national  administration,  changed  rapidly  for  the 


30  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

better  with  the  victory  at  Gettysburg,  which  forced  Gen 
eral  Lee  out  of  Pennsylvania  and  back  into  Virginia,  and 
also  by  General  Grant's  wonderful  series  of  victories  at 
Vicksburg  and  other  places  which  liberated  the  Missis 
sippi  River. 

Under  these  favorable  conditions  the  Republicans 
entered  upon  the  canvass  in  the  fall  of  1863  to  reverse, 
if  possible,  the  Democratic  victory  the  year  before.  The 
Republican  State  ticket  was: 

Secretary  of  State Chauncey  M.  Depew. 

Comptroller Lucius  Robinson. 

Canal  Commissioner Benjamin  F.  Bruce. 

Treasurer George  W.  Schuyler. 

State  Engineer William  B.  Taylor. 

Prison  Inspector James  K.  Bates. 

Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals Henry  S.  Selden. 

Attorney-General John  Cochran. 

The  canvass  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  politi 
cal  campaigns.  The  president  was  unusually  active,  and 
his  series  of  letters  were  remarkable  documents.  He  had 
the  ear  of  the  public;  he  commanded  the  front  page  of 
the  press,  and  he  defended  his  administration  and  its 
acts  and  replied  to  his  enemies  with  skill,  tact,  and  ex 
treme  moderation. 

Public  opinion  was  peculiar.  Military  disasters  and 
increasing  taxation  had  made  the  position  of  the  ad 
ministration  very  critical,  but  the  victories  which  came 
during  the  summer  changed  the  situation.  I  have  never 
known  in  any  canvass  any  one  incident  which  had 
greater  effect  than  Sheridan's  victory  in  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley,  and  never  an  adventure  which  so  captured 
the  popular  imagination  as  his  ride  from  Washington  to 
the  front;  his  rallying  the  retreating  and  routed  troops, 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  31 

reforming  them  and  turning  defeat  into  victory.  The 
poem,  "Sheridan's  Ride,"  was  recited  in  every  audi 
ence,  from  every  platform,  and  from  the  stage  in  many 
theatres  and  created  the  wildest  enthusiasm. 

My  friend,  Wayne  MacVeagh,  who  was  at  Yale  Col 
lege  with  me,  had  succeeded  as  a  radical  leader  in  de 
feating  his  brother-in-law,  Don  Cameron,  and  getting 
control  for  the  first  time  in  a  generation  against  the 
Cameron  dynasty  of  the  Republican  State  organization 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  had  nominated  a  radical  ticket, 
with  Andrew  G.  Curtin  as  a  candidate  for  governor. 

MacVeagh  wrote  to  me,  saying:  "You  are  running  at 
the  head  of  the  Republican  ticket  in  New  York.  Your 
battle  is  to  be  won  in  Pennsylvania,  and  unless  we  suc 
ceed  you  cannot.  Come  over  and  help  us." 

I  accepted  the  invitation  and  spent  several  most  ex 
citing  and  delightful  weeks  campaigning  with  Governor 
Curtin  and  his  party.  The  meetings  were  phenomenal 
in  the  multitudes  which  attended  and  their  interest  in 
the  speeches.  I  remember  one  dramatic  occasion  at  the 
city  of  Reading.  This  was  a  Democratic  stronghold; 
there  was  not  a  single  Republican  office-holder  in  the 
county.  The  only  compensation  for  a  Republican  ac 
cepting  a  nomination  and  conducting  a  canvass,  with  its 
large  expenses  and  certain  defeat,  was  that  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  he  was  given  as  an  evidence  of  honor  the  title 
of  the  office  for  which  he  ran,  and  so  the  county  was  full 
cf  "judges,  Mr.  District  Attorneys,  State  Senators,  and 
Congressmen"  who  had  never  been  elected. 

We  arrived  at  Reading  after  midday.  The  leading 
street,  a  very  broad  one,  was  also  on  certain  days  the 
market-place.  A  friend  of  the  governor,  who  had  a 
handsome  house  on  this  street,  had  the  whole  party  for 


32  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

luncheon.  The  luncheon  was  an  elaborate  banquet. 
Governor  Curtin  came  to  me  and  said:  "You  go  out 
and  entertain  the  crowd,  which  is  getting  very  impa 
tient,  and  in  about  twenty  minutes  I  will  send  some  one 
to  relieve  you."  It  was  raining  in  torrents;  the  crowd 
shouted  to  me  encouragingly:  "Never  mind  the  rain;  we 
are  used  to  that,  but  we  never  heard  you."  As  I  would 
try  to  stop  they  would  shout:  "Go  ahead!"  In  the 
meantime  the  banquet  had  turned  into  a  festive  occa 
sion,  with  toasts  and  speeches.  I  had  been  speaking 
over  two  hours  before  the  governor  and  his  party  ap 
peared.  They  had  been  dining,  and  the  Eighteenth 
Amendment  had  not  been  dreamed  of.  I  was  drenched 
to  the  skin,  but  waited  until  the  governor  had  delivered 
his  twenty-minute  speech;  then,  without  stopping  for 
the  other  orators,  I  went  over  to  the  house,  stripped, 
dried  myself,  and  went  to  bed. 

Utterly  exhausted  with  successive  days  and  nights  of 
this  experience,  I  did  not  wake  until  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  Then  I  wandered  out  in  the  street, 
found  the  crowd  still  there,  and  the  famous  John  W. 
Forney  making  a  speech.  They  told  me  that  he  had 
been  speaking  for  four  hours,  delivering  an  historical 
address,  but  had  only  reached  the  administration  of 
General  Jackson.  I  never  knew  how  long  he  kept  at  it, 
but  there  was  a  tradition  with  our  party  that  he  was 
still  speaking  when  the  train  left  the  next  morning. 

Governor  Curtin  was  an  ideal  party  leader  and  can 
didate.  He  was  one  of  the  handsomest  men  of  his  time, 
six  feet  four  inches  in  height,  perfectly  proportioned  and  a 
superb  figure.  He  never  spoke  over  twenty  minutes, 
but  it  was  the  talk  in  the  familiar  way  of  an  expert  to 
his  neighbors.  He  had  a  cordial  and  captivating  manner, 
which  speedily  made  him  the  idol  of  the  crowd  and  a 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  33 

most  agreeable  companion  in  social  circles.  When  he 
was  minister  to  Russia,  the  Czar,  who  was  of  the  same 
height  and  build,  was  at  once  attracted  to  him,  and  he 
took  a  first  place  among  the  diplomats  in  influence. 

When  I  returned  to  New  York  to  enter  upon  my  own 
canvass,  the  State  and  national  committees  imposed 
upon  me  a  heavy  burden.  Speakers  of  State  reputation 
were  few,  while  the  people  were  clamoring  for  meetings. 
Fortunately  I  had  learned  how  to  protect  my  voice.  In 
the  course  of  the  campaign  every  one  who  spoke  with 
me  lost  his  voice  and  had  to  return  home  for  treatment. 
When  I  was  a  student  at  Yale  the  professor  in  elocution 
was  an  eccentric  old  gentleman  named  North.  The 
boys  paid  little  attention  to  him  and  were  disposed  to 
ridicule  his  peculiarities.  He  saw  that  I  was  specially 
anxious  to  learn  and  said:  "The  principal  thing  about 
oratory  is  to  use  your  diaphragm  instead  of  your  throat." 
His  lesson  on  that  subject  has  been  of  infinite  benefit  to 
me  all  my  life. 

The  programme  laid  out  called  upon  me  to  speak  on 
an  average  between  six  and  seven  hours  a  day.  The 
speeches  were  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes  at  different 
railway  stations,  and  wound  up  with  at  least  two  meet 
ings  at  some  important  towns  in  the  evening,  and  each 
meeting  demanded  about  an  hour.  These  meetings  were 
so  arranged  that  they  covered  the  whole  State.  It  took 
about  four  weeks,  but  the  result  of  the  campaign,  due 
to  the  efforts  of  the  orators  and  other  favorable  con 
ditions,  ended  in  the  reversal  of  the  Democratic  victory 
of  the  year  before,  a  Republican  majority  of  thirty 
thousand  and  the  control  of  the  legislature. 

In  1864  the  political  conditions  were  very  unfavor 
able  for  the  Republican  party,  owing  to  the  bitter  hos- 


34  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

tility  between  the  conservative  and  radical  elements. 
Led  by  such  distinguished  men  as  Thurlow  Weed  and 
Henry  J.  Raymond,  on  the  one  side,  and  Horace  Greeley, 
with  an  exceedingly  capable  body  of  earnest  lieutenants 
on  the  other,  the  question  of  success  or  defeat  depended 
,  upon  the  harmonizing  of  the  two  factions. 

Without  having  been  recognized  by  the  politicians  or 
press  of  the  State,  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  who  had  been  for 
ten  years  a  congressman  from  the  Chatauqua  district, 
had  developed  in  Congress  remarkable  ability  as  an 
organizer.  He  had  succeeded  in  making  Galusha  A. 
Grow  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  had 
become  a  power  in  that  body.  He  had  behind  him 
the  earnest  friendship  and  support  of  the  New  York 
delegation  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  had 
not  incurred  the  enmity  of  either  faction  in  his  own 
State.  His  nomination  saved  the  party  in  that  cam 
paign. 

As  an  illustration  how  dangerous  was  the  situation, 
though  the  soldiers'  vote  in  the  field  was  over  one  hun 
dred  thousand  and  almost  unanimously  for  the  Republi 
can  ticket,  the  presidential  and  gubernatorial  candi 
dates  received  less  than  eight  thousand  majority,  the 
governor  leading  the  president. 

The  re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  election  of 
Reuben  E.  Fenton  over  Governor  Seymour  made  our 
State  solidly  Republican,  and  Governor  Fenton  became 
at  once  both  chief  executive  and  party  leader.  He  had 
every  quality  for  political  leadership,  was  a  shrewd  judge 
of  character,  and  rarely  made  mistakes  in  the  selection 
of  his  lieutenants.  He  was  a  master  of  all  current  politi 
cal  questions  and  in  close  touch  with  public  opinion. 
My  official  relations  with  him  as  secretary  of  state  be- 


IN   PUBLIC  LIFE  35 

came  at  once  intimate  and  gratifying.  It  required  in 
after-years  all  the  masterful  genius  of  Roscoe  Conkling 
and  the  control  of  federal  patronage  granted  to  him  by 
President  Grant  to  break  Fenton's  hold  upon  his  party. 

Governor  Fenton  was  blessed  with  a  daughter  of  won 
derful  executive  ability,  singular  charm,  and  knowledge 
of  public  affairs.  She  made  the  Executive  Mansion  in 
Albany  one  of  the  most  charming  and  hospitable  homes 
in  the  State.  Its  influence  radiated  everywhere,  cap 
tured  visitors,  legislators,  and  judges,  and  was  a  power 
ful  factor  in  the  growing  popularity  and  influence  of  the 
governor. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  political  gatherings  was 
the  Democratic  convention,  which  met  at  Tredwell 
Hall  in  Albany  in  the  fall  of  1864,  to  select  a  successor  to 
Governor  Seymour.  The  governor  had  declared  pub 
licly  that  he  was  not  a  candidate,  and  that  under  no 
conditions  would  he  accept  a  renomination.  He  said 
that  his  health  was  seriously  impaired,  and  his  private 
affairs  had  been  neglected  so  long  by  his  absorption  in 
public  duties  that  they  were  in  an  embarrassing  condi 
tion  and  needed  attention. 

The  leaders  of  the  convention  met  in  Dean  Richmond's 
office  and  selected  a  candidate  for  governor  and  a  full 
State  ticket.  When  the  convention  met  the  next  day  I 
was  invited  to  be  present  as  a  spectator.  It  was  sup 
posed  by  everybody  that  the  proceedings  would  be  very 
formal  and  brief,  as  the  candidates  and  the  platform  had 
been  agreed  upon.  The  day  was  intensely  hot,  and 
most  of  the  delegates  discarded  their  coats,  vests,  and 
collars,  especially  those  from  New  York  City. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  nomination,  the  platform 
was  taken  by  one  of  the  most  plausible  and  smooth 


36  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

talkers  I  ever  heard.  He  delivered  a  eulogy  upon  Gov 
ernor  Seymour  and  described  in  glowing  terms  the  debt 
the  party  owed  him  for  his  wonderful  public  services, 
and  the  deep  regret  all  must  have  that  he  felt  it  neces 
sary  to  retire  to  private  life.  He  continued  by  saying 
that  he  acquiesced  in  that  decision,  but  felt  it  was  due 
to  a  great  patriot  and  the  benefactor  of  the  party  that 
he  should  be  tendered  a  renomination.  Of  course,  they 
all  knew  it  would  be  merely  a  compliment,  as  the  gov 
ernor's  position  had  been  emphatically  stated  by  him 
self.  So  he  moved  that  the  governor  be  nominated  by 
acclamation  and  a  committee  appointed  to  wait  upon 
him  at  the  Executive  Mansion  and  ascertain  his  wishes. 

When  Mr.  Richmond  was  informed  of  this  action,  he 
said  it  was  all  right  but  unnecessary,  because  the  situa 
tion  was  too  serious  to  indulge  in  compliments. 

In  an  hour  the  delegation  returned,  and  the  chairman, 
who  was  the  same  gentleman  who  made  the  speech  and 
the  motion,  stepped  to  the  front  of  the  platform  to 
report.  He  said  that  the  governor  was  very  grateful  for 
the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  convention,  and 
especially  for  its  approval  of  his  official  actions  as  gov 
ernor  of  the  State  and  the  representative  of  his  party  at 
the  national  convention,  that  in  his  long  and  intense 
application  to  public  duties  he  had  impaired  his  health 
and  greatly  embarrassed  his  private  affairs,  but,  but,  he 
continued  with  emphasis  ...  He  never  got  any  fur 
ther.  Senator  Shafer,  of  Albany,  who  was  unfriendly  to 
the  governor,  jumped  up  and  shouted:  "Damn  him,  he 
has  accepted!" 

The  convention,  when  finally  brought  to  order,  re 
affirmed  its  complimentary  nomination  as  a  real  one, 
with  great  enthusiasm  and  wild  acclaim. 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  37 

When  the  result  was  reported  to  Mr.  Richmond  at  his 
office,  I  was  told  by  one  who  was  present  that  Rich 
mond's  picturesque  vocabulary  of  indignation  and  de 
nunciation  was  enriched  to  such  a  degree  as  to  astonish 
and  shock  even  the  hardened  Democrats  who  listened  to 
the  outburst. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  the  governor 
and  request  him  to  appear  before  the  convention.  In  a 
little  while  there  stepped  upon  the  platform  the  finest 
figure  in  the  State  or  country.  Horatio  Seymour  was 
not  only  a  handsome  man,  with  a  highly  intellectual  and 
expressive  face  of  mobile  features,  which  added  to  the 
effect  of  his  oratory,  but  he  never  appeared  unless  per 
fectly  dressed  and  in  the  costume  which  was  then  uni 
versally  regarded  as  the  statesman's  apparel.  His  pat 
ent-leather  boots,  his  Prince  Albert  suit,  his  perfectly 
correct  collar  and  tie  were  evidently  new,  and  this  was 
their  first  appearance.  From  head  to  foot  he  looked 
the  aristocrat.  In  a  few  minutes  he  became  the  idol  of 
that  wild  and  overheated  throng.  His  speech  was  a 
model  of  tact,  diplomacy,  and  eloquence,  with  just  that 
measure  of  restraint  which  increased  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  hearers.  The  convention,  which  had  gathered  for 
another  purpose,  another  candidate,  and  a  new  policy, 
hailed  with  delight  its  old  and  splendid  leader. 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  had  a  great  admiration  for 
Dean  Richmond.  The  commodore  disliked  boasters  and 
braggarts  intensely.  Those  who  wished  to  gain  his 
favor  made  the  mistake,  as  a  rule,  of  boasting  about 
what  they  had  done,  and  were  generally  met  by  the 
remark:  "That  amounts  to  nothing."  Mr.  Tillinghast, 
a  western  New  York  man  and  a  friend  of  Richmond, 
was  in  the  commodore's  office  one  day,  soon  after  Rich* 


38  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

mond  died.  Tillinghast  was  general  superintendent  of 
the  New  York  Central  and  had  been  a  sufferer  from 
being  stepped  on  by  the  commodore  when  he  was  laud 
ing  his  own  achievements  and  so  took  the  opposite  line 
of  extreme  moderation.  The  commodore  asked  Tilling- 
ihast,  after  praising  Mr.  Richmond  very  highly,  "How 
much  did  he  leave?"  "Oh,"  said  Tillinghast,  "his 
estate  is  a  great  disappointment,  and  compared  with 
what  it  was  thought  to  be  it  is  very  little."  "  I  am  sur 
prised,"  remarked  the  commodore,  "but  how  much?" 
"Oh,  between  five  or  six  millions,"  Tillinghast  answered. 
For  the  first  time  in  his  life  the  commodore  was  thrown 
off  his  guard  and  said:  "Tillinghast,  if  five  or  six  millions 
of  dollars  is  a  disappointment,  what  do  you  expect  in 
western  New  York?"  At  that  time  there  were  few 
men  who  were  worth  that  amount  of  money. 

Governor  Seymour  made  a  thorough  canvass  of  the 
State,  and  I  was  appointed  by  our  State  committee  to 
follow  him.  It  was  a  singular  experience  to  speak  and 
reply  to  the  candidate  the  day  after  his  address.  The 
local  committee  meets  you  with  a  very  complete  report 
of  his  speech.  The  trouble  is  that,  except  you  are  under 
great  restraint,  the  urgency  of  the  local  committee  and 
the  inevitable  temptations  of  the  reply  under  such  condi 
tions,  when  your  adversary  is  not  present,  will  lead  you 
to  expressions  and  personalities  which  you  deeply  regret. 

When  the  canvass  was  over  and  the  governor  was 
beaten,  I  feared  that  the  pleasant  relations  which  had 
existed  between  us  were  broken.  But  he  was  a  thorough 
sportsman.  He  sent  for  and  received  me  with  the  great 
est  cordiality,  and  invited  me  to  spend  a  week-end  with 
him  at  his  home  in  Utica.  There  he  was  the  most  de 
lightful  of  hosts  and  very  interesting  as  a  gentleman 


IN   PUBLIC  LIFE  39 

farmer.  In  the  costume  of  a  veteran  agriculturist  and 
in  the  farm  wagon  he  drove  me  out  mornings  to  his 
farm,  which  was  so  located  that  it  could  command  a 
fine  view  of  the  Mohawk  Valley.  After  the  inspection 
of  the  stock,  the  crops,  and  buildings,  the  governor 
would  spend  the  day  discoursing  eloquently  and  most 
optimistically  upon  the  prosperity  possible  for  the 
farmer.  To  his  mind  then  the  food  of  the  future  was 
to  be  cheese.  There  was  more  food  value  in  cheese  than 
in  any  known  edible  article,  animal  or  vegetable.  It 
could  sustain  life  more  agreeably  and  do  more  for  lon 
gevity  and  health. 

No  one  could  have  imagined,  who  did  not  know  the 
governor  and  was  privileged  to  listen  to  his  seemingly 
most  practical  and  highly  imaginative  discourse,  that 
the  speaker  was  one  of  the  ablest  party  managers, 
shrewdest  of  politicians,  and  most  eloquent  advocates  in 
the  country,  whose  whole  time  and  mind  apparently 
were  absorbed  in  the  success  of  his  party  and  the  fruition 
of  his  own  ambitions. 

As  we  were  returning  home  he  said  to  me:  "You  have 
risen  higher  than  any  young  man  in  the  country  of  your 
age.  You  have  a  talent  and  taste  for  public  life,  but 
let  me  advise  you  to  drop  it  and  devote  yourself  to  your 
profession.  Public  life  is  full  of  disappointments,  has  an 
unusual  share  of  ingratitude,  and  its  compensations  are 
not  equal  to  its  failures.  The  country  is  full  of  men  who 
have  made  brilliant  careers  in  the  public  service  and 
then  been  suddenly  dropped  and  forgotten.  The  num 
ber  of  such  men  who  have  climbed  the  hill  up  State 
Street  to  the  capitol  in  Albany,  with  the  applause  of 
admiring  crowds  whom  none  now  can  recall,  would  make 
a  great  army." 


40  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

He  continued  by  telling  this  story:  "In  the  war  of 
1812  the  governor  and  the  legislature  decided  to  bring 
from  Canada  to  Albany  the  remains  of  a  hero  whose 
deeds  had  excited  the  admiration  of  the  whole  State. 
There  was  an  imposing  and  continuous  procession,  with 
local  celebrations  all  along  the  route,  from  the  frontier 
to  the  capital.  The  ceremonies  in  Albany  were  attended 
by  the  governor,  State  officers,  legislature,  and  judges, 
and  the  remains  were  buried  in  the  capitol  park.  No 
monument  was  erected.  The  incident  is  entirely  forgot 
ten,  no  one  remembers  who  the  hero  was,  what  were  his 
deeds,  nor  the  spot  where  he  rests." 

Years  afterwards,  when  the  State  was  building  a  new 
capitol  and  I  was  one  of  the  commissioners,  in  excavating 
the  grounds  a  skeleton  was  found.  It  was  undoubtedly 
the  forgotten  hero  of  Governor  Seymour's  story. 

When  my  term  was  about  expiring  with  the  year  1865 
I  decided  to  leave  public  life  and  resume  the  practice  of 
my  profession.  I  was  at  the  crossroads  of  a  political  or 
a  professional  career.  So,  while  there  was  a  general 
assent  to  my  renomination,  I  emphatically  stated  the 
conclusion  at  which  I  had  arrived. 

The  Republican  convention  nominated  for  my  suc 
cessor  as  secretary  of  state  General  Francis  C.  Barlow,  a 
very  brilliant  soldier  in  the  Civil  War.  The  Democratic 
convention  adopted  a  patriotic  platform  of  advanced 
and  progressive  views,  and  nominated  at  the  head  of 
their  ticket  for  secretary  of  state  General  Henry  W. 
Slocum.  General  Slocum  had  been  a  corps  commander 
in  General  Sherman's  army,  and  came  out  of  the  war 
among  the  first  in  reputation  and  achievement  of  the 
great  commanders.  It  was  a  master  stroke  on  the  part 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  41 

of  the  Democratic  leaders  to  place  him  at  the  head  of 
their  ticket.  He  was  the  greatest  soldier  of  our  State 
and  very  popular  with  the  people.  In  addition  to  being 
a  great  commander,  he  had  a  charming  personality, 
which  fitted  him  for  success  in  public  life. 

The  Democrats  also  on  the  same  ticket  nominated  for 
attorney-general  John  Van  Buren.  He  was  a  son  of 
President  Van  Buren  and  a  man  of  genius.  Although  he 
was  very  erratic,  his  ability  was  so  great  that  when 
serious  he  captured  not  only  the  attention  but  the  judg 
ment  of  people.  He  was  an  eloquent  speaker  and  had  a 
faculty  of  entrancing  the  crowd  with  his  wit  and  of  char 
acterization  of  his  opponent  which  was  fatal.  I  have 
seen  crowds,  when  he  was  elaborately  explaining  details 
necessary  for  the  vindication  of  his  position,  or  that  of 
his  party  which  did  not  interest  them,  to  remain  with 
close  attention,  hoping  for  what  was  certain  to  come, 
namely,  one  of  those  sallies  of  wit,  which  made  a  speech 
of  Van  Buren  a  memorable  thing  to  have  listened  to. 

Van  Buren  was  noted  for  a  reckless  disregard  of  the 
confidences  of  private  conversation.  Once  I  was  with 
him  on  the  train  for  several  hours,  and  in  the  intimacy 
which  exists  among  political  opponents  who  know  and 
trust  each  other  we  exchanged  views  in  regard  to  public 
measures  and  especially  public  men.  I  was  very  indis 
creet  in  talking  with  him  in  my  criticism  of  the  leaders 
of  my  own  party,  and  he  equally  frank  and  delightful  in 
flaying  alive  the  leaders  of  his  party,  especially  Gov 
ernor  Seymour. 

A  few  days  afterwards  he  made  a  speech  in  which  he 
detailed  what  I  had  said,  causing  me  the  greatest  embar 
rassment  and  trouble.  In  retaliation  I  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  public,  stating  what  he  had  said  about  Governor 


42  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Seymour.  The  Democratic  ticket  was  beaten  by  fifteen 
thousand  in  a  very  heavy  vote,  and  Van  Buren  always 
charged  it  to  the  resentment  of  Governor  Seymour  and 
his  friends. 

In  our  country  public  life  is  a  most  uncertain  career 
for  a  young  man.  Its  duties  and  activities  remove  him 
from  his  profession  or  business  and  impose  habits  of 
work  and  thought  which  unfit  him  for  ordinary  pursuits, 
especially  if  he  remains  long  in  public  service.  With  a 
change  of  administration  or  of  party  popularity,  he  may 
be  at  any  time  dropped  and  left  hopelessly  stranded. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  his  party  is  in  power  he  has  in  it  a 
position  of  influence  and  popularity.  He  has  a  host  of 
friends,  with  many  people  dependent  upon  him  for  their 
own  places,  and  it  is  no  easy  thing  for  him  to  retire. 

When  I  had  decided  not  to  remain  any  longer  in  pub 
lic  life  and  return  home,  the  convention  of  my  old  dis 
trict,  which  I  had  represented  in  the  legislature,  renomi- 
nated  me  for  the  old  position  with  such  earnestness  and 
affection  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  refuse  and  to  per 
suade  them  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  me  to 
resume  actively  my  profession. 

Our  village  of  Peekskill,  which  has  since  grown  into 
the  largest  village  in  the  State,  with  many  manufacturing 
and  other  interests,  was  then  comparatively  small.  A 
large  number  of  people  gathered  at  the  post-office  every 
morning.  On  one  occasion  when  I  arrived  I  found  them 
studying  a  large  envelope  addressed  to  me,  which  the 
postmaster  had  passed  around.  It  was  a  letter  from 
William  H.  Seward,  secretary  of  state,  announcing  that 
the  president  had  appointed  me  United  States  minister 
to  Japan,  and  that  the  appointment  had  been  sent  to 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  43 

the  Senate  and  confirmed  by  that  body,  and  directing 
that  I  appear  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  at  his 
office  to  receive  instructions  and  go  to  my  post.  A  few 
days  afterwards  I  received  a  beautiful  letter  from  Henry 
J.  Raymond,  then  in  Congress,  urging  my  acceptance. 

On  arriving  in  Washington  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Seward, 
who  said  to  me:  "I  have  special  reasons  for  securing  your 
appointment  from  the  president.  He  is  rewarding 
friends  of  his  by  putting  them  in  diplomatic  positions 
for  which  they  are  wholly  unfit.  I  regard  the  opening 
of  Japan  to  commerce  and  our  relations  to  that  new  and 
promising  country  so  important,  that  I  asked  the  privi 
lege  to  select  one  whom  I  thought  fitted  for  the  position. 
Your  youth,  familiarity  with  public  life,  and  ability  seem 
to  me  ideal  for  this  position,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you 
will  accept." 

I  stated  to  him  how  necessary  it  was  that  after  long 
neglect  in  public  life  of  my  private  affairs  I  should 
return  to  my  profession,  if  I  was  to  make  a  career,  but 
Mr.  Seward  brushed  that  aside  by  reciting  his  own  suc- 
~°ss,  notwithstanding  his  long  service  in  our  State  and 
in  Washington.  "However,"  he  continued,  "I  feared 
that  this  might  be  your  attitude,  so  I  have  made  an 
appointment  for  you  to  see  Mr.  Burlingame,  who  has 
been  our  minister  to  China,  and  is  now  here  at  the  head 
of  a  mission  from  China  to  the  different  nations  of  the 
world." 

Anson  Burlingame's  career  had  been  most  picturesque 
and  had  attracted  the  attention  of  not  only  the  United 
States  but  of  Europe.  As  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  he  had  accepted  the  challenge  of  a  "fire- 
eater,"  who  had  sent  it  under  the  general  view  that  no 
Northern  man  would  fight.  As  minister  to  China  he 


44  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

had  so  gained  the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  Government 
that  he  persuaded  them  to  open  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  Western  world,  and  at  their  request  he  had 
resigned  his  position  from  the  United  States  and  ac 
cepted  the  place  of  ambassador  to  the  great  powers,  and 
was  at  the  head  of  a  large  delegation,  composed  of  the 
most  important,  influential,  and  representative  man 
darins  of  the  old  empire. 

When  I  sent  up  my  card  to  his  room  at  the  hotel  his 
answer  was:  "Come  up  immediately."  He  was  shaving 
and  had  on  the  minimum  of  clothes  permissible  to  receive 
a  visitor.  He  was  expecting  me  and  started  in  at  once 
with  an  eloquent  description  of  the  attractions  and  im 
portance  of  the  mission  to  Japan.  With  the  shaving 
brush  in  one  hand  and  the  razor  in  the  other  he  delivered 
an  oration.  In  order  to  emphasize  it  and  have  time  to 
think  and  enforce  a  new  idea,  he  would  apply  the  brush 
and  the  razor  vigorously,  then  pause  and  resume.  I 
cannot  remember  his  exact  words,  but  have  a  keen  rec 
ollection  of  the  general  trend  of  his  argument. 

He  said:  "I  am  surprised  that  a  young  man  like  you, 
unmarried  and  with  no  social  obligations,  should  hesi 
tate  for  a  moment  to  accept  this  most  important  and 
attractive  position.  If  you  think  these  people  are  bar 
barians,  I  can  assure  you  that  they  had  a  civilization  and 
a  highly  developed  literature  when  our  forefathers  were 
painted  savages.  The  western  nations  of  Europe,  in 
order  to  secure  advantages  in  this  newly  opened  country 
for  commerce,  have  sent  their  ablest  representatives. 
You  will  meet  there  with  the  diplomats  of  all  the  great 
western  nations,  and  your  intimacy  with  them  will  be  a 
university  of  the  largest  opportunity.  You  will  come  in 
contact  with  the  best  minds  of  Europe.  You  can  make 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  45 

a  great  reputation  in  the  keen  rivalry  of  this  situation 
by  securing  the  best  of  the  trade  of  Japan  for  your  own 
country  to  its  western  coasts  over  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific.  You  will  be  welcomed  by  the  Japanese  Govern 
ment,  and  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  will  assign  you 
a  palace  to  live  in,  with  a  garden  attached  so  perfectly 
appointed  and  kept  as  to  have  been  the  envy  of  Shen- 
stone.  You  will  be  attended  by  hundreds  of  beautiful 
and  accomplished  Japanese  maidens." 

When  I  repeated  to  a  large  body  of  waiting  office- 
seekers  who  had  assembled  in  my  room  what  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame  had  said,  they  all  became  applicants  for  the 
place. 

There  is  no  more  striking  evidence  of  the  wonderful 
advance  in  every  way  of  the  Japanese  Empire  and  its 
people  than  the  conditions  existing  at  that  time  and 
now.  Then  it  took  six  months  to  reach  Japan  and  a 
year  for  the  round  trip.  Of  course,  there  was  no  tele 
graphic  or  cable  communication,  and  so  it  required  a 
year  for  a  message  to  be  sent  and  answered.  The  Jap 
anese  army  at  that  time  was  mostly  clad  in  armor  and 
its  navy  were  junks. 

In  fifty  years  Japan  has  become  one  of  the  most  ad 
vanced  nations  of  the  world.  It  has  adopted  and  assimi 
lated  all  that  is  best  of  Western  civilization,  and  acquired 
in  half  a  century  what  required  Europe  one  thousand 
years  to  achieve.  Its  army  is  unexcelled  in  equipment 
and  discipline,  and  its  navy  and  mercantile  marine  are 
advancing  rapidly  to  a  foremost  place.  It  demonstrated 
its  prowess  in  the  war  with  Russia,  and  its  diplomacy 
and  power  in  the  recent  war. 

Japan  has  installed  popular  education,  with  common 
schools,  academies,  and  universities,  much  on  the  Ameri- 


46  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

can  plan.  It  has  adopted  and  installed  every  modern 
appliance  developed  by  electricity — telegraph,  cable, 
telephone,  etc. 

While  I  was  greatly  tempted  to  reverse  my  decision 
and  go,  my  mother,  who  was  in  delicate  health,  felt  that 
an  absence  so  long  and  at  such  distance  would  be  fatal, 
and  so  on  her  account  I  declined. 

As  I  look  back  over  the  fifty  years  I  can  see  plainly 
that  four  years,  and  probably  eight,  in  that  mission 
would  have  severed  me  entirely  from  all  professional  and 
business  opportunities  at  home,  and  I  might  have  of 
necessity  become  a  place  holder  and  a  place  seeker,  with 
all  its  adventures  and  disappointments. 

If  I  had  seriously  wanted  an  office  and  gone  in  pursuit 
of  one,  my  pathway  would  have  had  the  usual  difficul 
ties,  but  fickle  fortune  seemed  determined  to  defeat  my 
return  to  private  life  by  tempting  offers.  The  collector- 
ship  of  the  port  of  New  York  was  vacant.  It  was  a  posi 
tion  of  great  political  power  because  of  its  patronage. 
There  being  no  civil  service,  the  appointments  were  suffi 
ciently  numerous  and  important  to  largely  control  the 
party  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  its  political  influ 
ence  reached  into  other  commonwealths.  It  was  an 
office  whose  fees  were  enormous,  and  the  emoluments 
far  larger  than  those  of  any  position  in  the  country. 

The  party  leaders  had  begun  to  doubt  President  John 
son,  and  they  wanted  in  the  collectorship  a  man  in 
whom  they  had  entire  confidence,  and  so  the  governor 
and  State  officers,  who  were  all  Republicans,  the  Repub 
lican  members  of  the  legislature,  the  State  committee, 
the  two  United  States  senators,  and  the  Republican 
delegation  of  New  York  in  the  House  of  Representa- 


IN   PUBLIC  LIFE  47 

tives  unanimously  requested  the  president  to  appoint 
me. 

President  Johnson  said  to  me:  "No  such  recommenda 
tion  and  indorsement  has  ever  been  presented  to  me 
before/'  However,  the  breach  between  him  and  the 
party  was  widening,  and  he  could  not  come  to  a  decision. 

One  day  he  suddenly  sent  for  Senator  Morgan,  Henry 
J.  Raymond,  Thurlow  Weed,  and  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  for  a  consultation.  He  said  to  them:  "I  have 
decided  to  appoint  Mr.  Depew."  The  appointment  was 
made  out  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  the 
president  instructed  him  to  send  it  to  the  Senate  the 
next  morning.  There  was  great  rejoicing  among  the 
Republicans,  as  this  seemed  to  indicate  a  favorable  turn 
in  the  president's  mind.  Days  and  weeks  passed,  how 
ever,  and  when  the  veto  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  was 
overridden  in  the  Senate  and,  with  the  help  of  the  votes 
of  the  senators  from  New  York,  the  breach  between  the 
president  and  his  party  became  irreconcilable,  the  move 
ment  for  his  impeachment  began,  which  ended  in  the 
most  sensational  and  perilous  trial  in  our  political  his 
tory. 

On  my  way  home  to  New  York,  after  the  vote  of  the 
New  York  senators  had  ended  my  hope  for  appoint 
ment,  I  had  as  a  fellow  traveller  my  friend,  Professor 
Davies,  from  West  Point.  He  was  a  brother  of  that 
eminent  jurist,  Henry  E.  Davies,  a  great  lawyer  and 
chief  justice  of  our  New  York  State  Court  of  Appeals. 
Professor  Davies  said  to  me:  "I  think  I  must  tell  you 
why  your  nomination  for  collector  was  not  sent  to  the 
Senate.  I  was  in  Washington  to  persuade  the  president, 
with  whom  I  am  quite  intimate,  to  make  another  ap 
pointment.  I  was  calling  on  Secretary  Hugh  McCuIIoch 


48  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

and  his  family  in  the  evening  of  the  day  when  the  con 
ference  decided  to  appoint  you.  Secretary  McCuIIoch 
said  to  me:  'The  contest  over  the  collectorship  of  the 
port  of  New  York  is  settled,  and  Chauncey  Depew's 
name  will  be  sent  to  the  Senate  to-morrow  morning.'  I 
was  at  the  White  House,"  continued  the  professor,  "the 
next  morning  before  breakfast.  The  president  received 
me  at  once  because  I  said  my  mission  was  urgent  and 
personal.  I  told  him  what  the  secretary  of  the  treasury 
had  told  me  and  said:  'You  are  making  a  fatal  mistake. 
You  are  going  to  break  with  your  party  and  to  have  a 
party  of  your  own.  The  collectorship  of  the  port  of  New 
York  is  the  key  to  your  success.  Depew  is  very  capable 
and  a  partisan  of  his  party.  If  you  have  any  doubt,  I 
beg  of  you  to  withhold  the  appointment  until  the  ques 
tion  comes  up  in  the  Senate  of  sustaining  or  overriding 
of  the  veto  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill.  The  votes  of  the 
two  New  York  senators  will  decide  whether  they  are 
your  friends  or  not.'  The  president  thought  that  was 
reasonable,  and  you  know  the  result." 

There  was  at  least  one  satisfaction  in  the  professor's 
amazingly  frank  revelation:  it  removed  all  doubt  why  I 
had  lost  a  great  office  and,  for  my  age  and  circumstances, 
a  large  fortune. 

President  Andrew  Johnson  differed  radically  from  any 
President  of  the  United  States  whom  it  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  know.  This  refers  to  all  from  and  in 
cluding  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Mr.  Harding.  A  great  deal  must 
be  forgiven  and  a  great  deal  taken  by  way  of  explana 
tion  when  we  consider  his  early  environment  and  oppor 
tunities. 

In  the  interviews  I  had  with  him  he  impressed  me  as 
a  man  of  vigorous  mentality,  of  obstinate  wilfulness,  and 


IN   PUBLIC  LIFE  49 

overwhelming  confidence  in  his  own  judgment  and  the 
courage  of  his  convictions.  His  weakness  was  alcohol 
ism.  He  made  a  fearful  exhibition  of  himself  at  the 
time  of  his  inauguration  and  during  the  presidency,  and 
especially  during  his  famous  trip  "around  the  circle"  he 
was  in  a  bad  way. 

He  was  of  humble  origin  and,  in  fact,  very  poor.  It 
is  said  of  him  that  he  could  neither  read  nor  write  until 
his  wife  taught  him.  He  made  a  great  career  both  as  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  a  senator, 
and  was  of  unquestionable  influence  in  each  branch. 
With  reckless  disregard  for  his  life,  he  kept  east  Tennes 
see  in  the  Union  during  the  Civil  War. 

General  Grant  told  me  a  story  of  his  own  experience 
with  him.  Johnson,  he  said,  had  always  been  treated 
with  such  contempt  and  ignored  socially  by  the  mem 
bers  of  the  old  families  and  slave  aristocracy  of  the 
South  that  his  resentment  against  them  was  vindictive, 
and  so  after  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  he  was  con 
stantly  proclaiming  "Treason  is  odious  and  must  be 
punished."  He  also  wanted  and,  in  fact,  insisted  upon 
ignoring  Grant's  parole  to  the  Confederate  officers,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  tried  for  treason.  On  this 
question  of  maintaining  his  parole  and  his  military  honor 
General  Grant  was  inflexible,  and  said  he  would  appeal 
not  only  to  Congress  but  to  the  country. 

One  day  a  delegation,  consisting  of  the  most  eminent, 
politically,  socially,  and  in  family  descent,  of  the  South 
ern  leaders,  went  to  the  White  House.  They  said:  "Mr. 
President,  we  have  never  recognized  you,  as  you  belong 
to  an  entirely  different  class  from  ourselves,  but  it  is  the 
rule  of  all  countries  and  in  all  ages  that  supreme  power 
vested  in  the  individual  raises  him,  no  matter  what  his 

N> 


50  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

origin,  to  supreme  leadership.  You  are  now  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  by  virtue  of  your  office  our 
leader,  and  we  recognize  you  as  such."  Then  followed 
attention  from  these  people  whom  he  admired  and 
envied,  as  well  as  hated,  of  hospitality  and  deference,  of 
which  they  were  past  masters.  It  captivated  him  and 
changed  his  whole  attitude  towards  them. 

He  sent  for  General  Grant  and  said  to  him:  "The  war 
is  over  and  there  should  be  forgiveness  and  reconcilia 
tion.  I  propose  to  call  upon  all  of  the  States  recently  in 
rebellion  to  send  to  Washington  their  United  States  sen 
ators  and  members  of  the  House,  the  same  as  they  did 
before  the  war.  If  the  present  Congress  will  not  admit 
them,  a  Congress  can  be  formed  of  these  Southern  sen 
ators  and  members  of  the  House  and  of  such  Northern 
senators  and  representatives  as  will  believe  that  I  am 
right  and  acting  under  the  Constitution.  As  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  will  recognize  that  Congress  and 
communicate  with  them  as  such.  As  general  of  the 
army  I  want  your  support."  General  Grant  replied: 
"That  will  create  civil  war,  because  the  North  will  un 
doubtedly  recognize  the  Congress  as  it  now  exists,  and 
that  Congress  will  assert  itself  in  every  way  possible." 
"In  that  case,"  said  the  president,  "I  want  the  army  to 
support  the  constitutional  Congress  which  I  am  recog 
nizing."  General  Grant  said:  "On  the  contrary,  so  far 
as  my  authority  goes,  the  army  will  support  the  Congress 
as  it  is  now  and  disperse  the  other."  President  Johnson 
then  ordered  General  Grant  to  Mexico  on  a  mission,  and 
as  he  had  no  power  to  send  a  general  of  the  army  out  of 
the  United  States,  Grant  refused  to  go. 

Shortly  afterwards  Grant  received  a  very  confidential 
communication  from  General  Sherman,  stating  that  he 


IN  PUBLIC  LIFE  51 

had  been  ordered  to  Washington  to  take  command  of 
the  army,  and  wanted  to  know  what  it  meant.  General 
Grant  explained  the  situation,  whereupon  General  Sher 
man  announced  to  the  president  that  he  would  take 
exactly  the  same  position  as  General  Grant  had.  The 
president  then  dropped  the  whole  subject. 


Ill 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

The  secretaryship  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  a  very 
delightful  office.  Its  varied  duties  are  agreeable,  and 
the  incumbent  is  brought  in  close  contact  with  the 
State  administration,  the  legislature,  and  the  people. 

We  had  in  the  secretary  of  state's  office  at  the  time  I 
held  the  office,  about  fifty-eight  years  ago,  very  interesting 
archives.  The  office  had  been  the  repository  of  these 
documents  since  the  organization  of  the  government. 
Many  years  afterwards  they  were  removed  to  the  State 
Library.  Among  these  documents  were  ten  volumes  of 
autograph  letters  from  General  Washington  to  Governor 
Clinton  and  others,  covering  the  campaign  on  the  Hud 
son  in  the  effort  by  the  enemy  to  capture  West  Point, 
the  treason  of  Arnold,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Revo 
lutionary  War.  In  the  course  of  years  before  these 
papers  were  removed  to  the  State  Library,  a  large  part 
of  them  disappeared.  It  was  not  the  fault  of  the  admin 
istration  succeeding  me,  but  it  was  because  the  legisla 
ture,  in  its  effort  to  economize,  refused  to  make  appro 
priation  for  the  proper  care  of  these  invaluable  historic 
papers.  Most  of  Washington's  letters  were  written  en 
tirely  in  his  own  hand,  and  one  wonders  at  the  phe 
nomenal  industry  which  enabled  him  to  do  so  much 
writing  while  continuously  and  laboriously  engaged  in 
active  campaigning. 

In  view  of  the  approaching  presidential  election,  the 

52 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  53 

legislature  passed  a  law,  which  was  signed  by  the  gov 
ernor,  providing  machinery  for  the  soldiers'  vote.  New 
York  had  at  that  time  between  three  and  four  hundred 
thousand  soldiers  in  the  field,  who  were  scattered  in 
companies,  regiments,  brigades,  and  divisions  all  over 
the  South.  This  law  made  it  the  duty  of  the  secretary 
of  state  to  provide  ballots,  to  see  that  they  reached  every 
unit  of  a  company,  to  gather  the  votes  and  transmit 
them  to  the  home  of  each  soldier.  The  State  govern 
ment  had  no  machinery  by  which  this  work  could  be 
done.  I  applied  to  the  express  companies,  but  all  refused 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  not  equipped.  I  then  sent 
for  old  John  Butterfield,  who  was  the  founder  of  the 
express  business  but  had  retired  and  was  living  on  his 
farm  near  Utica.  He  was  intensely  patriotic  and  ashamed 
of  the  lack  of  enterprise  shown  by  the  express  compa 
nies.  He  said  to  me:  "If  they  cannot  do  this  work  they 
ought  to  retire."  He  at  once  organized  what  was  practi 
cally  an  express  company,  taking  in  all  those  in  exist 
ence  and  adding  many  new  features  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  distributing  the  ballots  and  gathering  the  soldiers' 
votes.  It  was  a  gigantic  task  and  successfully  executed 
by  this  patriotic  old  gentleman. 

Of  course,  the  first  thing  was  to  find  out  where  the 
New  York  troops  were,  and  for  that  purpose  I  went  to 
Washington,  remaining  there  for  several  months  before 
the  War  Department  would  give  me  the  information. 
The  secretary  of  war  was  Edwin  M.  Stanton.  It  was 
perhaps  fortunate  that  the  secretary  of  war  should  not 
only  possess  extraordinary  executive  ability,  but  be  also 
practically  devoid  of  human  weakness;  that  he  should 
be  a  rigid  disciplinarian  and  administer  justice  without 
mercy.  It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  these  qualities 


54  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

were  necessary  to  counteract,  as  far  as  possible,  the  ten 
der-heartedness  of  President  Lincoln.  If  the  boy  con 
demned  to  be  shot,  or  his  mother  or  father,  could  reach 
the  president  in  time,  he  was  never  executed.  The  mili 
tary  authorities  thought  that  this  was  a  mistaken  charity 
sand  weakened  discipline.  I  was  at  a  dinner  after  the 
?war  with  a  number  of  generals  who  had  been  in  com 
mand  of  armies.  The  question  was  asked  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  these  generals:  "How  did  you  carry  out 
the  sentences  of  your  courts  martial  and  escape  Lincoln's 
pardons?"  The  grim  old  warrior  answered:  "I  shot 
them  first." 

I  took  my  weary  way  every  day  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  but  could  get  no  results.  The  interviews  were 
brief  and  disagreeable  and  the  secretary  of  war  very 
brusque.  The  time  was  getting  short.  I  said  to  the 
secretary:  "If  the  ballots  are  to  be  distributed  in  time, 
I  must  have  information  at  once."  He  very  angrily 
refused  and  said:  "New  York  troops  are  in  every  army, 
all  over  the  enemy's  territory.  To  state  their  location 
would  be  to  give  invaluable  information  to  the  enemy. 
How  do  I  know  if  that  information  would  be  so  safe 
guarded  as  not  to  get  out?" 

As  I  was  walking  down  the  long  corridor,  which  was 
full  of  hurrying  officers  and  soldiers  returning  from  the 
field  or  departing  for  it,  I  met  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  who 
was  a  congressman  from  Illinois  and  an  intimate  friend 
of  the  president.  He  stopped  me  and  said : 

"Hello,  Mr.  Secretary,  you  seem  very  much  troubled. 
Can  I  help  you?"  I  told  him  my  story. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  he  asked.  I  answered: 
"To  protect  myself  I  must  report  to  the  people  of  New 
York  that  the  provision  for  the  soldiers'  voting  cannot 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  55 

be  carried  out  because  the  administration  refuses  to  give 
information  where  the  New  York  soldiers  are  located." 

"Why,"  said  Mr.  Washburne,  "that  would  beat  Mr. 
Lincoln.  You  don't  know  him.  While  he  is  a  great 
statesman,  he  is  also  the  keenest  of  politicians  alive.  If 
it  could  be  done  in  no  other  way,  the  president  would 
take  a  carpet-bag  and  go  around  and  collect  those  votes 
himself.  You  remain  here  until  you  hear  from  me.  I 
will  go  at  once  and  see  the  president." 

In  about  an  hour  a  staff  officer  stepped  up  to  me  and 
asked:  "Are  you  the  secretary  of  state  of  New  York?" 
I  answered  "Yes."  "The  secretary  of  war  wishes  to  see 
you  at  once,"  he  said.  I  found  the  secretary  most  cor 
dial  and  charming. 

"Mr.  Secretary,  what  do  you  desire?"  he  asked.  I 
stated  the  case  as  I  had  many  times  before,  and  he  gave 
a  peremptory  order  to  one  of  his  staff  that  I  should  re 
ceive  the  documents  in  time  for  me  to  leave  Washington 
on  the  midnight  train. 

The  magical  transformation  was  the  result  of  a  per 
sonal  visit  of  President  Lincoln  to  the  secretary  of  war. 
Mr.  Lincoln  carried  the  State  of  New  York  by  a  ma 
jority  of  only  6,749,  and  it  was  a  soldiers'  vote  that  gave 
him  the  Empire  State. 

The  compensations  of  my  long  delay  in  Washington 
trying  to  move  the  War  Department  were  the  oppor 
tunity  it  gave  me  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  meet  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet,  to  become  intimate  with  the  New 
York  delegation  in  Congress,  and  to  hear  the  wonderful 
adventures  and  stories  so  numerous  in  Washington. 

The  White  House  of  that  time  had  no  executive  offices 
as  now,  and  the  machinery  for  executive  business  was 
very  primitive.  The  east  half  of  the  second  story  had 


$6  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

one  large  reception-room,  in  which  the  president  could 
always  be  found,  and  a  few  rooms  adjoining  for  his  sec 
retaries  and  clerks.  The  president  had  very  little  pro 
tection  or  seclusion.  In  the  reception-room,  which  was 
always  crowded  at  certain  hours,  could  be  found  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  office-seekers,  and  an  anxious  company 
of  fathers  and  mothers  seeking  pardons  for  their  sons 
condemned  for  military  offenses,  or  asking  permission  to 
go  to  the  front,  where  a  soldier  boy  was  wounded  or  sick. 
Every  one  wanted  something  and  wanted  it  very  bad. 
The  patient  president,  wearied  as  he  was  with  cares  of 
state,  with  the  situation  on  several  hostile  fronts,  with 
the  exigencies  in  Congress  and  jealousies  in  his  Cabinet, 
patiently  and  sympathetically  listened  to  these  tales  of 
want  and  woe.  My  position  was  unique.  I  was  the 
only  one  in  Washington  who  personally  did  not  want 
anything,  my  mission  being  purely  in  the  public  interest. 

I  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Mr.  Seward,  the  secretary 
of  state,  and  through  the  intimacies  with  officers  in  his 
department  I  learned  from  day  to  day  the  troubles  in 
the  Cabinet,  so  graphically  described  in  the  diary  of  the 
secretary  of  the  navy  Gideon  Welles. 

The  antagonism  between  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Chase, 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  though  rarely  breaking  out 
in  the  open,  was  nevertheless  acute.  Mr.  Seward  was 
devoted  to  the  president  and  made  every  possible  effort 
to  secure  his  renomination  and  election.  Mr.  Chase  was 
doing  his  best  to  prevent  Mr.  Lincoln's  renomination 
and  secure  it  for  himself. 

No  president  ever  had  a  Cabinet  of  which  the  mem 
bers  were  so  independent,  had  so  large  individual  follow- 
ings,  and  were  so  inharmonious.  The  president's  sole 
ambition  was  to  secure  the  ablest  men  in  the  country  for 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  57 

the  departments  which  he  assigned  to  them  without 
regard  to  their  loyalty  to  himself.  One  of  Mr.  Seward's 
secretaries  would  frequently  report  to  me  the  acts  of  dis 
loyalty  or  personal  hostility  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Chase 
with  the  lament:  "The  old  man — meaning  Lincoln — 
knows  all  about  it  and  will  not  do  a  thing." 

I  had  a  long  and  memorable  interview  with  the  presi 
dent.  As  I  stepped  from  the  crowd  in  his  reception- 
room,  he  said  to  me:  "What  do  you  want?"  I  an 
swered:  "Nothing,  Mr.  President,  I  only  came  to  pay 
my  respects  and  bid  you  good-by,  as  I  am  leaving  Wash 
ington."  "It  is  such  a  luxury,"  he  then  remarked,  "to 
find  a  man  who  does  not  want  anything.  I  wish  you 
would  wait  until  I  get  rid  of  this  crowd." 

When  we  were  alone  he  threw  himself  wearily  on  a 
lounge  and  was  evidently  greatly  exhausted.  Then  he 
indulged,  rocking  backward  and  forward,  in  a  reminis 
cent  review  of  different  crises  in  his  administration,  and 
how  he  had  met  them.  In  nearly  every  instance  he  had 
carried  his  point,  and  either  captured  or  beaten  his  ad 
versaries  by  a  story  so  apt,  so  on  all  fours,  and  such 
complete  answers  that  the  controversy  was  over.  I 
remember  eleven  of  these  stories,  each  of  which  was  a 
victory. 

In  regard  to  this  story-telling,  he  said:  "I  am  accused 
of  telling  a  great  many  stories.  They  say  that  it  lowers , 
the  dignity  of  the  presidential  office,  but  I  have  found 
that  plain  people  (repeating  with  emphasis  plain  people), 
take  them  as  you  find  them,  are  more  easily  influenced 
by  a  broad  and  humorous  illustration  than  in  any  other 
way,  and  what  the  hypercritical  few  may  think,  I  don't 


care." 


In  speaking  Mr.  Lincoln  had  a  peculiar  cadence  in  his 


58  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

voice,  caused  by  laying  emphasis  upon  the  key-word  of 
the  sentence.  In  answer  to  the  question  how  he  knew 
so  many  anecdotes,  he  answered:  "I  never  invented  a 
story,  but  I  have  a  good  memory  and,  I  think,  tell  one 
tolerably  well.  My  early  life  was  passed  among  pioneers 
who  had  the  courage  and  enterprise  to  break  away  from( 
civilization  and  settle  in  the  wilderness.  The  things 
which  happened  to  these  original  people  and  among 
themselves  in  their  primitive  conditions  were  far  more 
dramatic  than  anything  invented  by  the  professional 
story-tellers.  For  many  years  I  travelled  the  circuit  as 
a  lawyer,  and  usually  there  was  only  one  hotel  in  the 
county  towns  where  court  was  held.  The  judge,  the 
grand  and  petit  juries,  the  lawyers,  the  clients,  and 
witnesses  would  pass  the  night  telling  exciting  or  amus 
ing  occurrences,  and  these  were  of  infinite  variety  and 
interest."  He  was  always  eager  for  a  new  story  to  add 
to  his  magazine  of  ammunition  and  weapons. 

One  night  when  there  was  a  reception  at  the  executive 
mansion  Rufus  F.  Andrews,  surveyor  of  the  port  of  New 
York,  and  I  went  there  together.  Andrews  was  a  good 
lawyer  and  had  been  a  correspondent  in  New  York  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  while  he  was  active  at  the  bar  in  Illinois. 
He  was  a  confidential  adviser  of  the  president  on  New 
York  matters  and  frequently  at  the  executive  mansion. 
As  the  procession  moved  past  the  president  he  stopped 
Andrews  and,  leaning  over,  spoke  very  confidentially  to 
him.  The  conversation  delayed  the  procession  for  some 
time.  When  Andrews  and  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  our 
rooms  were  crowded  with  newspaper  men  and  politicians 
wanting  to  know  what  the  confidential  conversation  was 
about.  Andrews  made  a  great  mystery  of  it  and  so  did 
the  press.  He  explained  to  me  when  we  were  alone  that 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  59 

during  his  visit  to  the  president  the  night  before  he  told 
the  president  a  new  story.  The  president  delayed  him 
at  the  reception,  saying:  "Andrews,  I  forgot  the  point 
of  that  story  you  told  me  last  night;  repeat  it  now." 

While  Mr.  Lincoln  had  the  most  logical  of  minds  and 
his  letters  and  speeches  on  political  controversies  were 
the  most  convincing  of  any  statesman  of  his  period,  he 
rarely  would  enter  into  a  long  discussion  in  conversa 
tion;  he  either  would  end  the  argument  by  an  apt  story 
or  illustration  enforcing  his  ideas. 

John  Ganson,  of  Buffalo,  was  the  leader  of  the  bar  in 
western  New  York.  Though  elected  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  as  a  Democrat,  he  supported  the  war 
measures  of  the  administration.  He  was  a  gentleman 
of  the  old  school,  of  great  dignity,  and  always  immacu 
lately  dressed.  He  was  totally  bald  and  his  face  also  de 
void  of  hair.  It  was  a  gloomy  period  of  the  war  and  the 
reports  from  the  front  very  discouraging.  Congressman 
Ganson  felt  it  his  duty  to  see  the  president  about  the 
state  of  the  country.  He  made  a  formal  call  and  said 
to  Mr.  Lincoln:  "Though  I  am  a  Democrat,  I  imperil 
my  political  future  by  supporting  your  war  measures.  I 
can  understand  that  secrecy  may  be  necessary  in  mili 
tary  operations,  but  I  think  I  am  entitled  to  know  the 
exact  conditions,  good  or  bad,  at  the  front." 

Mr.  Lincoln  looked  at  him  earnestly  for  a  minute  and 
then  said:  "Ganson,  how  clean  you  shave !"  That  ended 
the  interview. 

The  first  national  convention  I  ever  attended  was 
held  in  Baltimore  in  1864,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  re- 
nominated.  I  have  since  been  four  times  a  delegate- 
at-Iarge,  representing  the  whole  State,  and  many  times 
a  delegate  representing  a  congressional  district.  Judge 


60  CHAUNCE7  M.   DEPEW 

W.  H.  Robertson,  of  Westchester  County,  and  I  went  to 
the  convention  together.  We  thought  we  would  go  by 
sea,  but  our  ship  had  a  collision,  and  we  were  rescued  by 
a  pilot  boat.  Returning  to  New  York,  we  decided  to 
accept  the  security  of  the  railroad.  Judge  Robertson 
was  one  of  the  shrewdest  and  ablest  of  the  Republican 
politicians  in  the  State  of  New  York.  He  had  been 
repeatedly  elected  county  judge,  State  senator,  and 
member  of  Congress,  and  always  overcoming  a  hostile 
Democratic  majority. 

We  went  to  Washington  to  see  Mr.  Seward  first,  had 
an  interview  with  him  at  his  office,  and  dined  with  him 
in  the  evening.  To  dine  with  Secretary  Seward  was  an 
event  which  no  one,  and  especially  a  young  politician, 
ever  forgot.  He  was  the  most  charming  of  hosts  and 
his  conversation  a  liberal  education. 

There  was  no  division  as  to  the  renomination  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  but  it  was  generally  conceded  that  the  vice- 
president  should  be  a  war  Democrat.  The  candidacy  of 
Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  of  New  York,  had  been  so  ably, 
managed  that  he  was  far  and  away  the  favorite.  He 
had  been  all  his  life,  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
War,  one  of  the  most  pronounced  extreme  and  radical 
Democrats  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr.  Seward  took 
Judge  Robertson  and  me  into  his  confidence.  He  was 
hostile  to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  said 
that  the  situation  demanded  the  nomination  for  vice- 
president  of  a  representative  from  the  border  States, 
whose  loyalty  had  been  demonstrated  during  the  war. 
He  eulogized  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  and  gave  a 
glowing  description  of  the  courage  and  patriotism  with 
which  Johnson,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  had  advocated  the 
cause  of  the  Union  and  kept  his  State  partially  loyal. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  61 

He  said  to  us:  "You  can  quote  me  to  the  delegates,  and 
they  will  believe  I  express  the  opinion  of  the  president. 
While  the  president  wishes  to  take  no  part  in  the  nomi 
nation  for  vice-president,  yet  he  favors  Mr.  Johnson." 

When  we  arrived  at  the  convention  this  interview  with 
Mr.  Seward  made  us  a  centre  of  absorbing  interest  and 
at  once  changed  the  current  of  opinion,  which  before 
that  had  been  almost  unanimously  for  Mr.  Dickinson. 
It  was  finally  left  to  the  New  York  delegation. 

The  meeting  of  the  delegates  from  New  York  was  a 
stormy  one  and  lasted  until  nearly  morning.  Mr.  Dick 
inson  had  many  warm  friends,  especially  among  those  of 
previous  democratic  affiliation,  and  the  State  pride  to 
have  a  vice-president  was  in  his  favor.  Upon  the  final 
vote  Andrew  Johnson  had  one  majority.  The  decision 
of  New  York  was  accepted  by  the  convention  and  he 
was  nominated  for  vice-president. 

This  is  an  instance  of  which  I  have  met  many  in  my 
life,  where  the  course  of  history  was  changed  on  a  very 
narrow  margin.  Political  histories  and  the  newspapers' 
discussions  of  the  time  assigned  the  success  of  Mr.  John 
son  to  the  efforts  of  several  well-known  delegates,  but 
really  it  was  largely  if  not  wholly  due  to  the  message  of 
Mr.  Seward,  which  was  carried  by  Judge  Robertson  and 
myself  to  the  delegates. 

The  year  of  1864  was  full  of  changes  of  popular  senti 
ment  and  surprises.  The  North  had  become  very  tired 
of  the  war.  The  people  wanted  peace,  and  peace  at 
almost  any  price.  Jacob  Thompson  and  Clement  C. 
Clay,  ex-United  States  senators  from  the  South,  appeared 
at  Niagara  Falls,  on  the  Canadian  side,  and  either  they 
or  their  friends  gave  out  that  they  were  there  to  treat 
for  peace.  In  reference  to  them  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to 


'62  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

me:  "This  effort  was  to  inflame  the  peace  sentiment  of 
the  North,  to  embarrass  the  administration,  and  to  de 
moralize  the  army,  and  in  a  way  it  was  successful.  Mr. 
Greeley  was  hammering  at  me  to  take  action  for  peace, 
and  said  that  unless  I  met  these  men  every  drop  of  blood 
that  was  shed  and  every  dollar  that  was  spent  I  would 
be  responsible  for,  that  it  would  be  a  blot  upon  my  con 
science  and  soul.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Greeley  and 
said  to  him  that  those  two  ex-United  States  senators 
were  Whigs  and  old  friends  of  his,  personally  and  politi 
cally,  and  that  I  desired  him  to  go  to  Niagara  Falls  and 
find  out  confidentially  what  their  credentials  were  and 
let  me  know." 

The  president  stated  that  instead  of  Mr.  Greeley  doing 
it  that  way,  he  went  there  as  an  ambassador,  and  with 
an  array  of  reporters  established  himself  on  the  American 
side  and  opened  negotiations  with  these  two  alleged 
envoys  across  the  bridge.  Continuing,  Mr.  Lincoln  said: 
"I  had  reason  to  believe  from  confidential  information 
which  I  had  received  from  a  man  I  trusted  and  who  had 
interviewed  Jefferson  Davis,  the  president  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  that  these  envoys  were  without  authority,  because 
President  Davis  had  said  to  this  friend  of  mine  and  of 
his  that  he  would  treat  on  no  terms  whatever  but  on 
absolute  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  The  attention  of  the  whole  country  and 
of  the  army  centred  on  these  negotiations  at  Niagara 
Falls,  and  to  stop  the  harm  they  were  doing  I  recalled 
Mr.  Greeley  and  issued  my  proclamation  'To  Whom  It 
May  Concern/  in  which  I  stated  if  there  was  anybody 
or  any  delegation  at  Niagara  Falls,  or  anywhere  else, 
authorized  to  represent  the  Southern  Confederacy  and 
to  treat  for  peace,  they  had  free  conduct  and  safety  to 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  63 

Washington  and  return.  Of  course,  they  never  came, 
because  their  mission  was  a  subterfuge.  But  they  made 
Greeley  believe  in  them,  and  the  result  is  that  he  is  still 
attacking  me  for  needlessly  prolonging  the  war  for  pur 
poses  of  my  own." 

At  a  Cabinet  meeting  one  of  the  members  said  to  Mr. 
Lincoln:  "Mr.  President,  why  don't  you  write  a  letter 
to  the  public  stating  these  facts,  and  that  will  end  Mr. 
Greeley's  attacks?"  The  president  answered:  "Mr. 
Greeley  owns  a  daily  newspaper,  a  very  widely  circu 
lated  and  influential  one.  I  have  no  newspaper.  The 
press  of  the  country  would  print  my  letter,  and  so  would 
the  New  York  Tribune.  In  a  little  while  the  public 
would  forget  all  about  it,  and  then  Mr.  Greeley  would 
begin  to  prove  from  my  own  letter  that  he  was  right, 
and  I,  of  course,  would  be  helpless  to  reply."  He 
brought  the  Cabinet  around  to  unanimous  agreement 
with  him  by  telling  one  of  his  characteristic  stories. 

This  affair  and  the  delays  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
war  had  created  a  sentiment  early  in  1864  that  the  re 
election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  impossible.  The  leaders  of 
both  the  conservative  and  the  radical  elements  in  the 
Republican  party,  Mr.  Weed,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Mr. 
Greeley,  on  the  other,  frankly  told  the  president  that  he 
could  not  be  re-elected,  and  his  intimate  friend,  Con 
gressman  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  after  a  canvass  of  the 
country,  gave  him  the  same  information. 

Then  came  the  spectacular  victory  of  Farragut  at 
Mobile  and  the  triumphant  march  of  Sherman  through 
Georgia,  and  the  sentiment  of  the  country  entirely 
changed.  There  was  an  active  movement  on  foot  in  the 
interest  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  Chase,  and  fos 
tered  by  him,  to  hold  an  independent  convention  before 


64  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  regular  Republican  convention  as  a  protest  against 
the  renomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was  supported  by 
some  of  the  most  eminent  and  powerful  members  of  the 
party,  who  threw  into  the  effort  their  means  and  influ 
ence.  After  these  victories  the  effort  was  abandoned 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  by  acclamation.  I 
recall  as  one  of  the  excitements  and  pleasures  of  a  life 
time  the  enthusiastic  confidence  of  that  convention  when 
they  acclaimed  Lincoln  their  nominee. 

Governor  Seymour,  who  was  the  idol  of  his  party, 
headed  the  New  York  delegation  to  the  national  Demo 
cratic  convention  to  nominate  the  president,  and  his 
journey  to  that  convention  was  a  triumphal  march. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  at  the  time  he  had  with  him  not 
only  the  enthusiastic  support  of  his  own  party  but  the 
confidence  of  the  advocates  of  peace.  His  own  nomina 
tion  and  election  seemed  inevitable.  However,  in  defer 
ence  to  the  war  sentiment,  General  McCIellan  was  nomi 
nated  instead,  and  here  occurred  one  of  those  little 
things  which  so  often  in  our  country  have  turned  the 
tide. 

The  platform  committee,  and  the  convention  after 
wards,  permitted  to  go  into  the  platform  a  phrase  pro 
posed  by  Clement  C.  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio,  the  phrase 
being,  "The  war  is  a  failure."  Soon  after  the  adjourn 
ment  of  the  convention,  to  the  victories  of  Farragut  and 
Sherman  was  added  the  spectacular  campaign  and  vic 
tory  of  Sheridan  in  the  Valley  of  Shenandoah.  The  cam 
paign  at  once  took  on  a  new  phase.  It  was  the  opportu 
nity  for  the  orator. 

It  is  difficult  now  to  recreate  the  scenes  of  that  cam 
paign.  The  people  had  been  greatly  disheartened. 
Every  family  was  in  bereavement,  with  a  son  lost  and 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  65 

others  still  in  the  service.  Taxes  were  onerous  and  eco 
nomic  and  business  conditions  very  bad.  Then  came 
this  reaction,  which  seemed  to  promise  an  early  victory 
for  the  Union.  The  orator  naturally  picked  up  the 
phrase,  "The  war  is  a  failure";  then  he  pictured  Far- 
ragut  tied  to  the  shrouds  of  his  flag-ship;  then  he  por 
trayed  Grant's  victories  in  the  Mississippi  campaign, 
Hooker's  "battle  above  the  clouds,"  the  advance  of  the 
Army  of  Cumberland;  then  he  enthusiastically  described 
Sheridan  leaving  the  War  Department  hearing  of  the 
battle  in  Shenandoah  Valley,  speeding  on  and  rallying 
his  defeated  troops,  reforming  and  leading  them  to  vic 
tory,  and  finished  with  reciting  some  of  the  stirring  war 
poems. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  election  under  the  conditions  and  cir 
cumstances  was  probably  more  due  to  that  unfortunate 
phrase  in  the  Democratic  platform  than  to  any  other 
cause. 

The  tragedy  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
followed  by  the  most  pathetic  incident  of  American  life 
— his  funeral.  After  the  ceremony  at  Washington  the 
funeral  train  stopped  at  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
Albany.  In  each  of  these  cities  was  an  opportunity  for 
the  people  to  view  the  remains. 

I  had  charge  in  my  official  capacity  as  secretary  of 
state  of  the  train  after  it  left  Albany.  It  was  late  in 
the  evening  when  we  started,  and  the  train  was  running 
all  night  through  central  and  western  New  York.  Its 
schedule  was  well  known  along  the  route.  Wherever  the 
highway  crossed  the  railway  track  the  whole  population 
of  the  neighborhood  was  assembled  on  the  highway  and 
in  the  fields.  Huge  bonfires  lighted  up  the  scene.  Pas 
tors  of  the  local  churches  of  all  denominations  had  united 


66  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  leading  their  congregations  for  greeting  and  farewell 
for  their  beloved  president.  As  we  would  reach  a  cross 
ing  there  sometimes  would  be  hundreds  and  at  others 
thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children  on  their  knees, 
praying  and  singing  hymns. 

This  continuous  service  of  prayer  and  song  and  suppli 
cation  lasted  over  the  three  hundred  miles  between 
Albany  and  Buffalo,  from  midnight  until  dawn. 


IV 

GENERAL  GRANT 

The  fairies  who  distribute  the  prizes  are  practical 
jokers.  I  have  known  thousands  who  sought  office, 
some  for  its  distinction,  some  for  its  emoluments,  and 
some  for  both;  thousands  who  wanted  promotion  from 
places  they  held,  and  other  thousands  who  wanted  to 
regain  positions  they  had  lost,  all  of  whom  failed  in  their 
search. 

I  probably  would  have  been  in  one  of  those  classes  if  I 
had  been  seeking  an  office.  I  was  determined,  however, 
upon  a  career  in  railroad  work  until,  if  possible,  I  had 
reached  its  highest  rewards.  During  that  period  I  was 
offered  about  a  dozen  political  appointments,  most  of 
them  of  great  moment  and  very  tempting,  all  of  which  I 
declined. 

Near  the  close  of  President  Grant's  administration 
George  Jones,  at  that  time  the  proprietor  and  publisher 
of  the  New  York  Times,  asked  me  to  come  and  see  him. 
Mr.  Jones,  in  his  association  with  the  brilliant  editor, 
Henry  J.  Raymond,  had  been  a  progressive  and  staying 
power  of  the  financial  side  of  this  great  journal.  He  was 
of  Welsh  descent,  a  very  hardheaded,  practical,  and  wise 
business  man.  He  also  had  very  definite  views  on  poli 
tics  and  parties,  and  several  times  nearly  wrecked  his 
paper  by  obstinately  pursuing  a  course  which  was  tem 
porarily  unpopular  with  its  readers  and  subscribers.  I 
was  on  excellent  terms  with  Mr.  Jones  and  admired  him. 
The  New  York  Times  became  under  his  management  one 

67 


68  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

of  the  severest  critics  of  General  Grant's  administration 
and  of  the  president  himself. 

I  went  to  his  house  and  during  the  conversation  Jones 
said  to  me:  "I  was  very  much  surprised  to  receive  a  let 
ter  from  the  president  asking  me  to  come  and  see  him 
at  the  White  House.  Of  course  I  went,  anticipating  a 
disagreeable  interview,  but  it  turned  out  absolutely  the 
reverse.  The  president  was  most  cordial,  and  his  frank 
ness  most  attractive.  After  a  long  and  full  discussion, 
the  president  said  the  Times  had  been  his  most  unspar 
ing  critic,  but  he  was  forced  to  agree  with  much  the 
Times  said;  that  he  had  sent  for  me  to  make  a  request; 
that  he  had  come  to  the  presidency  without  any  prep 
aration  whatever  for  its  duties  or  for  civic  responsibili 
ties;  that  he  was  compelled  to  take  the  best  advice  he 
could  find  and  surround  himself  with  men,  many  of 
whom  he  had  never  met  before,  and  they  were  his  guides 
and  teachers;  that  he,  however,  assumed  the  entire 
responsibility  for  everything  he  had  done.  He  knew  per 
fectly  well,  in  the  retrospect  and  with  the  larger  experi 
ence  he  had  gained,  that  he  had  made  many  mistakes. 
'And  now,  Mr.  Jones,'  he  continued,  'I  have  sent  for  you 
as  the  most  powerful  as  well  as,  I  think,  the  fairest  of 
my  critics,  to  ask  that  you  will  say  in  your  final  sum 
ming  up  of  my  eight  years  that,  however  many  my 
errors  or  mistakes,  they  were  faults  of  judgment,  and 
that  I  acted  conscientiously  and  in  any  way  I  thought 
was  right  and  best.' 

"I  told  the  president  I  would  be  delighted  to  take 
that  view  in  the  Times.  Then  the  president  said  that 
he  would  like  to  show  his  appreciation  in  some  way 
which  would  be  gratifying  to  me.  I  told  him  that  I 
wanted  nothing  for  myself,  nor  did  any  of  my  friends,  in 


GENERAL  GRANT  69 

the  line  of  patronage.  Then  he  said  he  wanted  my 
assistance  because  he  was  looking  for  the  best  man  for 
United  States  district  attorney  for  the  district  of  New 
York.  With  my  large  acquaintance  he  thought  that  I 
should  be  able  to  tell  him  whom  among  the  lawyers 
would  be  best  to  appoint.  After  a  little  consideration  I 
recommended  you. 

"The  president  then  said:  'Mr.  Depew  supported 
Greeley,  and  though  he  is  back  in  the  party  and  doing 
good  service  in  the  campaigns,  I  do  not  like  those  men. 
Nevertheless,  you  can  tender  him  the  office  and  ask  for 
his  immediate  acceptance."' 

I  told  Mr.  Jones  what  my  determination  was  in  regard 
to  a  career,  and  while  appreciating  most  highly  both  his 
own  friendship  and  the  compliment  from  the  president, 
I  must  decline. 

General  Grant's  mistakes  in  his  presidency  arose  from 
his  possession  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  virtues,  and  that 
is  loyalty  to  one's  friends.  He  had  unlimited  confidence 
in  them  and  could  not  see,  or  be  made  to  see,  nor  listen 
to  any  of  their  defects.  He  was  himself  of  such  trans 
parent  honesty  and  truthfulness  that  he  gauged  and 
judged  others  by  his  own  standard.  Scandals  among  a 
few  of  the  officials  of  his  administration  were  entirely 
due  to  this  great  quality. 

His  intimacy  among  his  party  advisers  fell  among  the 
most  extreme  of  organization  men  and  political  machin 
ists.  When,  under  the  advice  of  Senator  Conkling,  he 
appointed  Thomas  Murphy  collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York,  it  was  charged  in  the  press  that  the  collector 
removed  employees  at  the  rate  of  several  hundred  per 
day  and  filled  their  places  with  loyal  supporters  of  the 
organization.  This  policy,  which  was  a  direct  reversal 


7o  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

of  the  ideas  of  civil-service  reform  which  were  then  rap 
idly  gaining  strength,  incurred  the  active  hostility  of 
civil-service  reformers,  of  whom  George  William  Curtis 
was  the  most  conspicuous. 

When  General  Grant  came  to  reside  in  New  York, 
after  his  tour  around  the  world,  he  was  overwhelmed  with 
social  attentions.  I  met  him  at  dinners  several  times  a 
week  and  was  the  victim  of  a  characteristic  coldness  of 
manner  which  he  had  towards  many  people. 

One  St.  Patrick's  Day,  while  in  Washington,  I  received 
an  earnest  telegraphic  request  from  Judge  John  T.  Brady 
and  his  brother-in-law,  Judge  Charles  P.  Daly,  president 
of  the  Society  of  the  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick,  saying: 
"The  Sons  are  to  have  their  greatest  celebration  because 
they  are  to  be  honored  by  the  presence  of  General  Grant, 
who  will  also  speak,  and  it  is  imperative  that  you  come 
and  help  us  welcome  him." 

I  arrived  at  the  dinner  late  and  passed  in  front  of  the 
dais  to  my  seat  at  the  other  end,  while  General  Grant 
was  speaking.  He  was  not  easy  on  his  feet  at  that  time, 
though  afterwards  he  became  very  felicitous  in  public 
speaking.  He  paused  a  moment  until  I  was  seated  and 
then  said:  "If  Chauncey  Depew  stood  in  my  shoes,  and 
I  in  his,  I  would  be  a  much  happier  man." 

I  immediately  threw  away  the  speech  I  had  prepared 
during  the  six  hours'  trip  from  Washington,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  make  a  speech  on  "Who  can  stand  now  or  in 
the  future  in  the  shoes  of  General  Grant?"  I  had 
plenty  of  time  before  my  turn  came  to  elaborate  this 
idea,  gradually  eliminating  contemporary  celebrities  until 
in  the  future  the  outstanding  figure  representing  the 
period  would  be  the  hero  of  our  Civil  War  and  the  resto 
ration  of  the  Union. 


GENERAL  GRANT  71 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  audience,  as  the  speech  went 
on,  surpassed  anything  I  ever  saw.  They  rushed  over 
tables  and  tried  to  carry  the  general  around  the  room. 
When  the  enthusiasm  had  subsided  he  came  to  me  and 
with  much  feeling  said:  "Thank  you  for  that  speech;  it 
is  the  greatest  and  most  eloquent  that  I  ever  heard." 
He  insisted  upon  my  standing  beside  him  when  he  re 
ceived  the  families  of  the  members,  and  took  me  home 
in  his  carriage. 

From  that  time  until  his  death  he  was  most  cordial, 
and  at  many  dinners  would  insist  upon  my  being 
assigned  to  a  chair  next  to  him. 

Among  strangers  and  in  general  conversation  General 
Grant  was  the  most  reticent  of  men,  but  among  those 
whom  he  knew  a  most  entertaining  conversationalist. 
He  went  over  a  wide  field  on  such  occasions  and  was 
interesting  on  all  subjects,  and  especially  instructive  on 
military  campaigns  and  commanders.  He  gave  me  as 
his  judgment  that  among  all  the  military  geniuses  of  the 
world  the  greatest  was  General  Philip  Sheridan,  and 
that  Sheridan's  grasp  of  a  situation  had  no  parallel  in 
any  great  general  of  whom  he  knew. 

I  was  with  General  Grant  at  his  home  the  day  before 
he  went  from  New  York  to  Mount  McGregor,  near  Sara 
toga,  where  he  died.  I  learned  of  the  trip  and  went  im 
mediately  to  see  him,  and  was  met  by  his  son,  General 
Frederick  D.  Grant.  I  said  to  him:  "I  learn  that  your 
father  is  going  to  Mount  McGregor  to-morrow,  and  I 
have  come  to  tender  him  a  special  train." 

After  all  the  necessary  arrangements  had  been  made 
he  asked  me  to  go  in  and  see  the  general.  Before  doing 
this  I  asked:  "How  is  he?"  "Well,"  he  answered,  "he 
is  dying,  but  it  is  of  infinite  relief  to  him  to  see  people 


72  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

whom  he  knows  and  likes,  and  I  know  he  wants  to  see 
you.  Our  effort  is  to  keep  his  mind  off  from  himself 
and  interest  him  with  anything  which  we  think  will  be 
of  relief  to  him,  and  if  you  have  any  new  incidents  do 
not  fail  to  tell  him." 

When  I  entered  the  room  the  general  was  busy  writing 
his  "Memoirs."  He  greeted  me  very  cordially,  said  he 
was  glad  to  see  me,  and  then  remarked:  "I  see  by  the 
papers  that  you  have  been  recently  up  at  Hartford  de 
livering  a  lecture.  Tell  me  about  it." 

In  reply  I  told  him  about  a  very  interesting  journey 
there;  the  lecture  and  supper  afterwards,  with  Mark 
Twain  as  the  presiding  genius,  concerning  all  of  which 
he  asked  questions,  wanting  more  particulars,  and  the 
whole  story  seemed  to  interest  him.  What  seemed  to 
specially  please  him  was  the  incident  when  I  arrived  at 
the  hotel,  after  the  supper  given  me  at  the  close  of  my 
lecture.  It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
I  went  immediately  to  bed,  leaving  a  call  for  the  early 
train  to  New  York,  ^t  five  o'clock  there  was  violent 
rapping  on  the  door  and,  upon  opening  it,  an  Irish  waiter 
stood  there  with  a  tray  on  which  were  a  bottle  of  cham 
pagne  and  a  goblet  of  ice. 

"You  have  made  a  mistake,"  I  said  to  the  waiter. 

"No,  sir,"  he  answered,  "I  could  not  make  a  mistake 
about  you." 

"Who  sent  this?"  I  asked. 

"The  committee,  sir,  with  positive  instructions  that 
you  should  have  it  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,"  he 
answered. 

"Well,  my  friend,  I  said,  is  it  the  habit  of  the  good 
people  of  Hartford,  when  they  have  decided  to  go  to 
New  York  on  an  early  train  to  drink  a  bottle  of  cham 
pagne  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning?" 


GENERAL  GRANT  73 

He  answered:  "Most  of  them  do,  sir." 

(Nobody  at  that  time  had  dreamed  of  the  Eighteenth 
Amendment  and  the  Volstead  law.) 

With  a  smile  General  Grant  then  said:  "Well,  there 
are  some  places  in  Connecticut  where  that  could  not  be 
done,  as  local  option  prevails  and  the  towns  have  gone 
dry.  For  instance,  my  friend,  Senator  Nye,  of  Nevada, 
spoke  through  Connecticut  in  my  interest  in  the  last 
campaign.  Nye  was  a  free  liver,  though  not  a  dissipated 
man,  and,  as  you  know,  a  very  excellent  speaker.  He 
told  me  that  when  he  arrived  at  one  of  the  principal 
manufacturing  towns  he  was  entertained  by  the  lead 
ing  manufacturer  at  his  big  house  and  in  magnificent 
style.  The  dinner  was  everything  that  could  be  de 
sired,  except  that  the  only  fluid  was  ice-water.  After  a 
long  speech  Nye,  on  returning  to  the  house,  had  a  recep 
tion,  and  the  supper  was  still  dry,  except  plenty  of  ice- 
water. 

"Nye,  completely  exhausted,  went  to  bed  but  could 
not  sleep,  nor  could  he  find  any  stimulants.  So,  about 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  dressed  and  wandered  down 
to  the  dining-room.  The  head  of  the  house  came  in 
and,  seeing  him,  exclaimed:  'Why,  senator,  you  are  up 
early/  Nye  replied:  'Yes,  you  know,  out  in  Nevada  we 
have  a  great  deal  of  malaria,  and  I  could  not  sleep.' 
'Well/  said  the  host,  'this  is  a  temperance  town.  We 
find  it  an  excellent  thing  for  the  working  people,  and 
especially  for  the  young  men,  but  we  have  some  malaria 
here,  also,  and  for  that  I  have  a  private  remedy/ 
Whereupon  he  went  to  a  closet  and  pulled  out  a  bottle  of 
brandy. 

"After  his  host  had  left,  Nye  continued  there  in  a 
refreshed  and  more  enjoyable  spirit.  Soon  his  hostess 


74  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

came  in  and,  much  surprised,  said:  'Why,  senator,  you 
are  up  early/  'Yes/  he  said,  'out  in  Nevada  we  have 
a  great  deal  of  malaria,  and  while  I  am  on  these  speak 
ing  tours  I  have  sharp  attacks  and  cannot  sleep.  I  had 
one  last  night/ 

"Well/  she  remarked,  'this  is  a  temperance  town, 
and  it  is  a  good  thing  for  the  working  people  and  the 
young  men,  but  I  have  a  touch  of  malaria  now  and  then 
myself/  Then  she  went  to  the  tea-caddy  and  pulled 
out  a  bottle  of  brandy.  The  senator  by  this  time  was 
in  perfect  harmony  with  himself  and  the  whole  world. 

"When  the  boys  came  in  (sons  of  the  entertainer)  they 
said:  'Senator,  we  hear  that  you  are  an  expert  on  live 
stock,  horses,  cattle,  etc.  Won't  you  come  out  in  the 
barn  so  we  can  show  you  some  we  regard  as  very  fine 
specimens?'  The  boys  took  him  out  to  the  barn,  shut 
the  door,  locked  it,  and  whispered:  'Senator,  we  have 
no  live  stock,  but  we  have  a  bottle  here  in  the  hay  mow 
which  we  think  will  do  you  good/  And  the  senator 
wound  up  his  narrative  by  saying:  'The  wettest  place 
that  I  know  of  is  a  dry  town  in  Connecticut/' 

The  next  day  General  Grant  went  to  Mount  Mc 
Gregor  and,  as  we  all  know,  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
lost  his  voice  completely. 


ROSCOE  CONKLING 

For  a  number  of  years,  instead  of  taking  my  usual 
vacation  in  travel  or  at  some  resort,  I  spent  a  few  weeks 
in  the  fall  in  the  political  canvass  as  a  speaker.  In  the 
canvass  of  1868  I  was  associated  with  Senator  Roscoe 
Conkling,  who  desired  an  assistant,  as  the  mass  meet 
ings  usually  wanted  at  least  two  and  probably  three 
hours  of  speaking,  and  he  limited  himself  to  an  hour. 
General  Grant  was  at  the  height  of  his  popularity  and 
the  audiences  were  enormous.  As  we  had  to  speak 
every  day  and  sometimes  several  times  a  day,  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  notified  the  committees  that  he  would  not  speak 
out  of  doors,  and  that  they  must  in  all  cases  provide  a 
hall. 

When  we  arrived  at  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  Burt  Van  Horn,  who  was  the  congress 
man  from  the  district,  told  the  senator  that  at  least 
twenty  thousand  people  from  the  town,  and  others  com 
ing  from  the  country  on  excursion  trains,  had  filled  the 
Fair  Grounds.  Conkling  became  very  angry  and  told 
the  congressman  that  he  knew  perfectly  well  the  condi 
tions  under  which  he  came  to  Lockport,  and  that  he 
would  not  speak  at  the  Fair  Grounds.  A  compromise 
was  finally  effected  by  which  the  senator  was  to  appear 
upon  the  platform,  the  audience  be  informed  that  he 
would  speak  in  the  Opera  House,  and  I  was  to  be  left 
to  take  care  of  the  crowd.  The  departure  of  the  senator 

75 


76  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

from  the  grounds  was  very  dramatic.  He  was  enthu 
siastically  applauded  and  a  band  preceded  his  carriage. 

For  some  reason  I  never  had  such  a  success  as  in 
addressing  that  audience.  Commencing  with  a  story 
which  was  new  and  effective,  I  continued  for  two  hours 
without  apparently  losing  an  auditor. 

Upon  my  return  to  the  hotel  I  found  the  senator  very 
indignant.  He  said  that  he  had  gone  to  the  Opera 
House  with  the  committee;  that,  of  course,  no  meeting 
had  been  advertised  there,  but  a  band  had  been  placed 
on  the  balcony  to  play,  as  if  it  were  a  dime  museum 
attraction  inside;  that  a  few  farmers'  wives  had  straggled 
in  to  have  an  opportunity  to  partake  from  their  baskets 
their  luncheons,  and  that  he  had  left  the  Opera  House 
and  returned  to  the  hotel.  The  committee  coming  in 
and  narrating  what  had  occurred  at  the  Fair  Grounds, 
did  not  help  his  imperious  temper.  The  committee 
begged  for  a  large  meeting,  which  was  to  be  held  in  the 
evening,  but  Conkling  refused  and  ordered  me  to  do  the 
same,  and  we  left  on  the  first  train.  The  cordial  rela 
tions  which  had  existed  up  to  that  time  were  somehow 
severed  and  he  became  very  hostile. 

General  Grant,  as  president,  of  course,  never  had  had 
experience  or  opportunity  to  know  anything  of  practical 
politics.  It  was  said  that  prior  to  his  election  he  had 
never  voted  but  once,  and  that  was  before  the  war, 
when  he  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  for  James  Bu 
chanan. 

AH  the  senators,  representatives,  and  public  men  who 
began  to  press  around  him,  seeking  the  appointment  to 
office  of  their  friends,  were  unknown  to  him  personally. 
He  decided  rapidly  whom  among  them  he  could  trust, 
and  once  having  arrived  at  that  conclusion,  his  decision 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  77 

was  irrevocable.  He  would  stand  by  a  friend,  without 
regard  to  its  effect  upon  himself,  to  the  last  ditch. 

Of  course,  each  of  the  two  United  States  senators, 
Conkling  and  Fenton,  wanted  his  exclusive  favor.  It  is 
impossible  to  conceive  of  two  men  so  totally  different  in 
every  characteristic.  Grant  liked  Conkling  as  much  as 
he  disliked  Fenton.  The  result  was  that  he  transferred 
the  federal  patronage  of  the  State  to  Senator  Conkling. 

Conkling  was  a  born  leader,  very  autocratic  and  dic 
tatorial.  He  immediately  began  to  remove  Fenton  offi 
cials  and  to  replace  them  with  members  of  his  own  organ 
ization.  As  there  was  no  civil  service  at  that  time  and 
public  officers  were  necessarily  active  politicians,  Senator 
Conkling  in  a  few  years  destroyed  the  organization  which 
Fenton  had  built  up  as  governor,  and  became  master  of 
the  Republican  party  in  the  State. 

The  test  came  at  the  State  convention  at  Saratoga. 
Senator  Conkling  at  that  time  had  become  hostile  to 
me,  why  I  do  not  know,  nor  could  his  friends,  who  were 
most  of  them  mine  also,  find  out.  He  directed  that  I 
must  not  be  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention.  The 
collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  in  order  to  make  that 
decree  effective,  filled  my  district  in  Westchester  County 
with  appointees  from  the  Custom  House. 

Patronage,  when  its  control  is  subject  to  a  popular 
vote,  is  a  boomerang.  The  appointment  of  a  citizen  in 
a  town  arouses  the  anger  of  many  others  who  think  they 
are  more  deserving.  I  appealed  to  the  farmers  with  the 
simple  question  whether  old  Westchester  should  be  con 
trolled  by  federal  authority  in  a  purely  State  matter  of 
their  own.  The  result  of  the  appeal  was  overwhelming, 
and  when  the  district  convention  met,  the  Custom 
House  did  not  have  a  single  delegate. 


78  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  leader  of  the  Custom  House  crowd  came  to  me 
and  said:  "This  is  a  matter  of  bread-and-butter  and  liv 
ing  with  us.  It  is  nothing  to  you.  These  delegates  are 
against  us  and  for  you  at  the  convention.  Now,  we 
have  devised  a  plan  to  save  our  lives.  It  is  that  the 
three  delegates  elected  shall  all  be  friends  of  yours.  You 
shall  apparently  be  defeated.  A  resolution  will  be 
passed  that  if  either  delegate  fails  to  attend  or  resigns, 
the  other  two  may  fill  the  vacancy.  One  of  these  will 
resign  when  the  convention  meets  and  you  will  be  sub 
stituted  in  his  place.  In  the  meantime  we  will  send 
out  through  the  Associated  Press  that  you  have  been 
defeated."  I  did  not  have  the  heart  to  see  these  poor 
fellows  dismissed  from  their  employment,  and  I  assented 
to  the  proposition. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  convention  Governor  Cornell, 
then  State  chairman,  called  it  to  order.  I  arose  to  make 
a  motion,  when  he  announced:  "You,  sir,  are  not  a 
member  of  this  convention."  My  credentials,  however, 
under  the  arrangement  made  in  Westchester,  convinced 
him  that  he  was  misinformed.  The  Conkling  side 
selected  for  their  chairman  Andrew  D.  White,  and  the 
other  side  selected  me.  Upon  careful  canvass  of  the 
votes  we  had  a  clear  majority. 

There  were  several  delegations  which  were  controlled 
by  federal  office-holders.  It  is  at  this  point  that  patron 
age  becomes  overwhelmingly  effective.  Several  of  those 
office-holders  were  shown  telegrams  from  Washington, 
which  meant  their  removal  unless  they  did  as  directed 
by  Senator  Conkling.  When  the  convention  met  the 
next  day,  the  office-holders  kept  their  heads  on  their 
shoulders,  and  my  dear  and  valued  old  friend,  Andrew 
D.  White,  was  elected  chairman  of  the  convention. 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  79 

I  asked  the  leader  of  the  federal  crowd  from  West- 
chester  how  he  explained  my  getting  into  the  conven 
tion.  "Oh,"  he  said,  "that  was  easy.  Our  people 
gained  so  many  delegates  by  offers  of  patronage  and 
threats  of  removal  that  when  I  told  them  you  had 
bought  my  delegates  away  from  me,  they  believed  it 
without  question,  and  we  are  all  safe  in  our  places  in  the 
Custom  House."  My  success  was  entirely  due  to  the 
farmers'  indignation  at  federal  dictation,  and  the  cam 
paign  did  not  cost  me  a  dollar. 

Roscoe  Conkling  was  created  by  nature  for  a  great 
career.  That  he  missed  it  was  entirely  his  own  fault. 
Physically  he  was  the  handsomest  man  of  his  time.  His 
mental  equipment  nearly  approached  genius.  He  was 
industrious  to  a  degree.  His  oratorical  gifts  were  of  the 
highest  order,  and  he  was  a  debater  of  rare  power  and 
resources.  But  his  intolerable  egotism  deprived  him  of 
vision  necessary  for  supreme  leadership.  With  all  his 
oratorical  power  and  his  talent  in  debate,  he  made  little 
impression  upon  the  country  and  none  upon  posterity. 
His  position  in  the  Senate  was  a  masterful  one,  and  on 
the  platform  most  attractive,  but  none  of  his  speeches 
appear  in  the  schoolbooks  or  in  the  collections  of  great 
orations.  The  reason  was  that  his  wonderful  gifts  were 
wholly  devoted  to  partisan  discussions  and  local  issues. 

His  friends  regarded  his  philippic  against  George  W. 
Curtis  at  the  Republican  State  convention  at  Rochester 
as  the  high-water  mark  of  his  oratory.  I  sat  in  the  seat 
next  to  Mr.  Curtis  when  Conkling  delivered  his  famous 
attack.  His  admirers  thought  this  the  best  speech  he 
ever  made,  and  it  certainly  was  a  fine  effort,  emphasized 
by  oratory  of  a  high  order,  and  it  was  received  by  them 
with  the  wildest  enthusiasm  and  applause. 


8o  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

The  assault  upon  Mr.  Curtis  was  exceedingly  bitter, 
the  denunciation  very  severe,  and  every  resource  of  sar 
casm,  of  which  Mr.  Conkling  was  past  master,  was  poured 
upon  the  victim.  His  bitterness  was  caused  by  Mr. 
Curtis's  free  criticism  of  him  on  various  occasions.  The 
speech  lasted  two  hours,  and  it  was  curious  to  note  its 
effect  upon  Mr.  Curtis.  Under  the  rules  which  the  con 
vention  had  adopted,  he  could  not  reply,  so  he  had  to 
sit  and  take  it.  The  only  feeling  or  evidence  of  being 
hurt  by  his  punishment  was  in  exclamations  at  different 
points  made  by  his  assailant.  They  were:  "Remark 
able!"  "Extraordinary!"  "What  an  exhibition!"  "Bad 
temper!"  "Very  bad  temper!" 

In  the  long  controversy  between  them  Mr.  Curtis  had 
the  advantages  which  the  journalist  always  possesses. 
The  orator  has  one  opportunity  on  the  platform  and  the 
publication  the  next  day  in  the  press.  The  editor — and 
Mr.  Curtis  was  at  that  time  editor  of  Harper's  Weekly — 
can  return  every  Saturday  and  have  an  exclusive  hear 
ing  by  an  audience  limited  only  by  the  circulation  of  his 
newspaper  and  the  quotations  from  it  by  journalistic 
friends. 

The  speech  illustrated  Conkling's  methods  of  prepara 
tion.  I  used  to  hear  from  the  senator's  friends  very  fre 
quently  that  he  had  added  another  phrase  to  his  char 
acterization  of  Curtis.  While  he  was  a  ready  debater, 
yet  for  an  effort  of  this  kind  he  would  sometimes  devote 
a  year  to  going  frequently  over  the  ground,  and  in  each 
repetition  produce  new  epigrams,  quotable  phrases,  and 
characterizations . 

There  used  to  be  an  employee  of  the  State  committee 
named  Lawrence.  He  was  a  man  of  a  good  deal  of 
receptive  intelligence  and  worshipped  the  senator.  Mr. 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  81 

Conkling  discovered  this  quality  and  used  Lawrence  as 
a  target  or  listening-post.  I  have  often  had  Lawrence 
come  to  my  office  and  say:  "I  had  a  great  night.  The 
senator  talked  to  me  or  made  speeches  to  me  until  nearly 
morning."  He  told  me  that  he  had  heard  every  word 
of  the  Curtis  philippic  many  times. 

Lawrence  told  me  of  another  instance  of  Conkling's 
preparation  for  a  great  effort.  When  he  was  preparing 
the  speech,  which  was  to  bring  his  friends  who  had  been 
disappointed  at  the  convention  to  the  support  of  General 
Garfield,  he  summoned  Lawrence  for  clerical  work  at  his 
home.  Lawrence  said  that  the  senator  would  write  or 
dictate,  and  then  correct  until  he  was  satisfied  with  the 
effort,  and  that  this  took  considerable  time.  When  it 
was  completed  he  would  take  long  walks  into  the  coun 
try,  and  in  these  walks  recite  the  whole  or  part  of  his 
speech  until  he  was  perfect  master  of  it. 

This  speech  took  four  hours  in  delivery  in  New  York, 
and  he  held  the  audience  throughout  this  long  period. 
John  Reed,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  New  York  Times, 
told  me  that  he  sat  on  the  stage  near  Conkling  and  had 
in  his  hands  the  proofs  which  had  been  set  up  in  advance 
and  which  filled  ten  columns  of  his  paper.  He  said  that 
the  senator  neither  omitted  nor  interpolated  a  word 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  He  would  frequently 
refer  apparently  to  notes  on  his  cuffs,  or  little  memo 
randa,  not  that  he  needed  them,  but  it  was  the  orator's 
always  successful  effort  to  create  impression  that  his 
speech  is  extemporaneous,  and  the  audience  much  prefer 
a  speech  which  they  think  is  such. 

Senator  Conkling  held  an  important  position  in  a  criti 
cal  period  of  our  country's  history.  If  his  great  powers 
had  been  devoted  in  the  largest  way  to  the  national  con- 


82  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

structive  problems  of  the  time,  he  would  have  been  the 
leader  of  the  dominant  party  and  president  of  the  United 
States.  Instead,  he  became  the  leader  of  a  faction  in 
his  own  State  only,  and  by  the  merciless  use  of  federal 
patronage  absolutely  controlled  for  twelve  years  the 
action  of  the  State  organization. 

All  the  young  men  who  appeared  in  the  legislature  or 
in  county  offices  who  displayed  talent  for  leadership, 
independence,  and  ambition  were  set  aside.  The  result 
was  remarkable.  While  prior  to  his  time  there  were 
many  men  in  public  life  in  the  State  with  national  repu 
tation  and  influence,  this  process  of  elimination  drove 
young  men  from  politics  into  the  professions  or  business, 
and  at  the  close  of  Senator  Conkling's  career  there  was 
hardly  an  active  member  of  the  Republican  party  in 
New  York  of  national  reputation,  unless  he  had  secured 
it  before  Mr.  Conkling  became  the  autocrat  of  New  York 
politics.  The  political  machine  in  the  Republican  party 
in  his  Congressional  district  early  in  his  career  became 
jealous  of  his  growing  popularity  and  influence,  both  at 
home  and  in  Congress.  By  machine  methods  they  de 
feated  him  and  thought  they  had  retired  him  perma 
nently  from  public  life. 

When  I  was  elected  secretary  of  state  I  received  a  note 
from  Mr.  Conkling,  asking  if  I  would  meet  him.  I  an 
swered:  "Yes,  immediately,  and  at  Albany."  He  came 
there  with  Ward  Hunt,  afterwards  t  one  of  the  associate 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  He 
delivered  an  intense  attack  upon  machine  methods  and 
machine  politics,  and  said  they  would  end  in  the  elimina 
tion  of  all  independent  thought,  in  the  crushing  of  all 
ambition  in  promising  young  men,  and  ultimate  infinite 
damage  to  the  State  and  nation.  "You,"  he  said,  "are 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  83 

a  very  young  man  for  your  present  position,  but  you  will 
soon  be  marked  for  destruction." 

Then  he  stated  what  he  wanted,  saying:  "I  was  de 
feated  by  the  machine  in  the  last  election.  They  can 
defeat  me  now  only  by  using  one  man  of  great  talent 
and  popularity  in  my  district.  I  want  you  to  make  that 
man  your  deputy  secretary  of  state.  It  is  the  best  office 
in  your  gift,  and  he  will  be  entirely  satisfied." 

I  answered  him:  "I  have  already  received  from  the 
chiefs  of  the  State  organization  designations  for  every 
place  in  my  office,  and  especially  for  that  one,  but  the 
appointment  is  yours  and  you  may  announce  it  at  once." 

Mr.  Conkling  arose  as  if  addressing  an  audience,  and 
as  he  stood  there  in  the  little  parlor  of  Congress  Hall  in 
Albany  he  was  certainly  a  majestic  figure.  He  said: 
"Sir,  a  thing  that  is  quickly  done  is  doubly  done.  Here 
after,  as  long  as  you  and  I  both  live,  there  never  will  be 
a  deposit  in  any  bank,  personally,  politically,  or  finan 
cially  to  my  credit  which  will  not  be  subject  to  your 
draft." 

The  gentleman  whom  he  named  became  my  deputy. 
His  name  was  Erastus  Clark.  He  was  a  man  of  ability 
and  very  broad  culture,  and  was  not  only  efficient  in  the 
performance  of  his  duties,  but  one  of  the  most  delightful 
of  companions.  His  health  was  bad,  and  his  friends 
were  always  alarmed,  and  justifiably  so,  about  him. 
Nevertheless,  I  met  him  years  afterwards  in  Washington, 
when  he  was  past  eighty-four. 

At  Mr.  Conkling's  request  Mr.  Clark  made  an  ap 
pointment  for  a  mutual  visit  to  Trenton  Falls,  a  charm 
ing  resort  near  Utica.  We  spent  the  week-end  there, 
and  I  saw  Mr.  Conkling  at  his  best.  He  was  charming 
in  reminiscence,  in  discussion,  in  his  characterization  of 


84  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  leading  actors  upon  the  public  stage,  and  in  varying 
views  of  ambitions  and  careers. 

When  the  patronage  all  fell  into  his  hands  after  the 
election  of  General  Grant,  he  pressed  upon  me  the  ap 
pointment  of  postmaster  of  the  city  of  New  York.  It 
was  difficult  for  him  to  understand  that,  while  I  enjoyed 
politics  and  took  an  active  part  in  campaigns,  I  would 
not  accept  any  office  whatever.  He  then  appointed  one 
of  the  best  of  postmasters,  who  afterwards  became  post 
master-general,  but  who  was  also  one  of  the  most  effi 
cient  of  his  lieutenants,  General  Thomas  L.  James. 

When  Mr.  Conkling  was  a  candidate  for  United  States 
senator  I  was  regarded  as  a  confidential  friend  of  Gov 
ernor  Fenton.  The  governor  was  one  of  the  most  secre 
tive  of  men,  and,  therefore,  I  did  not  know  his  views  as 
to  the  candidate,  or  whether  he  had  preferences.  I  think 
he  had  no  preferences  but  wished  Conkling  defeated, 
and  at  the  same  time  did  not  want  to  take  a  position 
which  would  incur  the  enmity  of  him  or  his  friends. 

One  night  there  was  a  great  public  demonstration, 
and,  being  called  upon,  I  made  a  speech  to  the  crowd, 
which  included  the  legislature,  to  the  effect  that  we  had 
been  voiceless  in  the  United  States  Senate  too  long;  that 
the  greatest  State  in  the  Union  should  be  represented 
by  a  man  who  had  demonstrated  his  ability  to  all,  and 
that  man  was  Mr.  Conkling.  This  created  an  impres 
sion  that  I  was  speaking  for  the  governor  as  well  as 
myself,  and  the  effect  upon  the  election  was  great.  Mr. 
Conkling  thought  so,  and  that  led  to  his  pressing  upon 
me  official  recognition. 

How  the  breach  came  between  us,  why  he  became 
persistently  hostile  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  I  never 
knew.  President  Arthur,  Governor  Cornell,  and  other 


ROSCOE  CONKLING  85 

of  his  intimate  friends  told  me  that  they  tried  often  to 
find  out,  but  their  efforts  only  irritated  him  and  never 
received  any  response. 

Senator  Conkling' s  peculiar  temperament  was  a  source 
of  great  trouble  to  his  lieutenants.  They  were  all  able 
and  loyal,  but  he  was  intolerant  of  any  exercise  on  their 
part  of  independent  judgment.  This  led  to  the  breaking 
off  of  all  relations  with  the  two  most  distinguished  of 
them — President  Arthur  and  Governor  Cornell. 

A  breach  once  made  could  not  be  healed.  A  bitter 
controversy  in  debate  with  Mr.  Elaine  assumed  a  per 
sonal  character.  In  the  exchanges  common  in  the  heat 
of  such  debates  Elaine  ridiculed  Conkling' s  manner  and 
called  him  a  turkey-cock.  Mutual  friends  tried  many 
times  to  bring  them  together.  Elaine  was  always  will 
ing,  but  Conkling  never. 

Conkling  had  a  controversy  which  was  never  healed 
with  Senator  Platt,  who  had  served  him  long  and  faith 
fully  and  with  great  efficiency.  During  the  twenty  years 
in  which  Platt  was  leader,  following  Senator  Conkling, 
he  displayed  the  reverse  qualities.  He  was  always  ready 
for  consultation,  he  sought  advice,  and  was  tolerant  of 
large  liberty  of  individual  judgment  among  his  associ 
ates.  He  was  always  forgiving,  and  taking  back  into 
confidence  those  with  whom  he  had  quarrelled. 

One  summer  I  was  taking  for  a  vacation  a  trip  to 
Europe  and  had  to  go  aboard  the  steamer  the  night 
before,  as  she  sailed  very  early  in  the  morning.  One  of 
my  staff  appeared  and  informed  me  that  a  very  serious 
attack  upon  the  New  York  Central  had  been  started 
in  the  courts  and  that  the  law  department  needed  out 
side  counsel  and  asked  whom  he  should  employ.  I 
said:  "Senator  Conkling."  With  amazement  he  replied; 


86  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

"Why,  he  has  been  bitterly  denouncing  you  for  months." 
"Yes,  but  that  was  politics,"  I  said.  "You  know  the 
most  brilliant  lawyer  in  the  United  States  might  come 
to  New  York,  and  unless  he  formed  advantageous  asso 
ciations  with  some  of  the  older  firms  he  could  get  no 
practice.  Now,  this  suit  will  be  very  conspicuous,  and 
the  fact  that  Senator  Conkling  is  chief  counsel  for  the 
Central  will  give  him  at  once  a  standing  and  draw  to 
him  clients."  His  appearance  in  the  case  gave  him  im 
mediate  prominence  and  a  large  fee. 

Senator  Conkling's  career  at  the  bar  was  most  suc 
cessful,  and  there  was  universal  sorrow  when  his  life 
ended  in  the  tragedy  of  the  great  blizzard. 


VI 

HORACE  GREELEY 

While  secretary  of  state  of  New  York,  the  decennial 
State  census  was  taken,  and  the  appointment  of  three 
thousand  census  takers  involved  as  much  pressure  from 
congressmen,  State  senators,  assemblymen,  and  local 
leaders  as  if  the  places  had  been  very  remunerative  and 
permanent.  I  discovered  what  a  power  political  patron 
age  is  in  party  organization,  because  it  developed  that 
the  appointment  of  this  large  number  of  men,  located  in 
every  town  in  the  State,  could  easily  have  been  utilized 
for  the  formation  of  a  personal  organization  within  the 
party. 

I  was  exceedingly  fond,  as  I  am  still  and  always  have 
been,  of  political  questions,  issues  affecting  the  general 
government,  the  State,  or  localities,  party  organizations, 
and  political  leaders.  So,  while  devoted  to  my  profes 
sion  and  its  work  and  increasingly  enjoying  its  labor 
and  activities,  politics  became  an  interesting  recreation. 
With  no  desire  for  and  with  a  determination  not  to  take 
any  public  office,  to  be  called  into  party  councils,  to  be 
at  an  occasional  meeting  of  the  State  committee  and  a 
delegate  to  conventions  were  happy  relief  and  excur 
sions  from  the  routine  of  professional  work,  as  golf  is  to 
a  tired  business  man  or  lawyer. 

The  nomination  of  General  Grant  for  president  by 
the  Republicans  and  of  Horatio  Seymour  by  the  Demo 
crats  had  made  New  York  the  pivotal  State  in  the 

87 


88  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

national  election.  John  T.  Hoffman,  the  most  popular 
among  the  younger  Democrats,  was  their  nominee  for 
governor.  The  Republicans,  with  great  unanimity, 
agreed  upon  John  A.  Griswold,  a  congressman  from  the 
Troy  district.  Griswold  was  the  idol  of  his  colleagues 
in  the  New  York  delegation  in  Congress,  and  his  attrac 
tive  personality  and  demonstrated  business  ability  had 
made  him  a  great  favorite  with  politicians,  business 
men,  and  labor.  The  canvass  for  his  nomination  had 
been  conducted  with  great  ardor  by  enthusiastic  friends 
in  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  the  delegations  were  nearly 
all  practically  pledged  to  his  nomination.  No  one 
dreamed  that  there  would  be  an  opposition  candidate. 

On  the  train  to  the  convention  John  Russell  Young, 
then  managing  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune  under 
Mr.  Greeley,  came  to  me  and  said:  "Mr.  Greeley  has 
decided  to  be  a  candidate  at  the  convention  for  the 
nomination  for  governor.  You  are  his  friend,  he  lives 
in  your  assembly  district  in  Westchester  County,  and 
wishes  you  to  make  the  nomination  speech." 

I  tried  to  argue  the  question  with  Young  by  portray 
ing  to  him  the  situation  and  the  utter  hopelessness  of 
any  attempt  to  break  the  slate.  He,  however,  insisted 
upon  it,  saying  that  all  pledges  and  preferences  would 
disappear  because  of  Greeley's  services  to  the  party  for 
so  many  years. 

When  we  arrived  at  Syracuse  and  stated  our  determi 
nation  to  present  Mr.  Greeley's  name,  it  was  hilariously 
received  as  a  joke.  Efforts  were  made  by  friends  of  Mr. 
Greeley  to  persuade  him  not  to  undertake  such  an  im 
possible  task,  but  they  could  produce  no  effect. 

Mr.  Griswold  was  put  in  nomination  by  Mr.  Demers, 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  young  men  in  the  ministry  of 


HORACE  GREELEY  89 

the  State,  and  afterwards  an  editor  of  power,  and  his 
speech  filled  every  requirement. 

Then  I  presented  Mr.  Greeley.  At  first  the  audience 
was  hostile,  but  as  the  recital  of  the  great  editor's 
achievements  grew  in  intensity  and  heat,  the  convention 
began  to  applaud  and  then  to  cheer.  A  delegate  hurled 
at  me  the  question:  "How  about  Greeley  signing  the 
bail  of  Jefferson  Davis?"  The  sentiment  seemed  to 
change  at  once  and  cheers  were  followed  by  hisses. 
Then  there  was  supreme  silence,  and  I  immediately 
shouted:  "There  are  spots  on  the  sun." 

The  effect  was  electrical.  Delegates  were  on  their 
feet,  standing  on  chairs,  the  air  was  full  of  hats,  and  the 
cheers  deafening  for  Greeley  for  some  minutes.  Mr. 
Demers,  the  preacher  delegate,  lost  his  equilibrium, 
rushed  up  to  me,  shaking  his  fist  excitedly,  and  shouted: 
"Damn  you!  you  have  nominated  him  and  beaten 
GriswokL" 

A  recess  was  taken,  and  when  the  convention  recon 
vened  the  ballot  demonstrated  that  if  the  organization 
is  given  time  it  can  always  reform  its  shattered  lines  and 
show  the  efficiency  of  discipline. 

When  I  met  Mr.  Greeley  soon  after,  he  said:  "I  cannot 
understand  why  I  desired  the  nomination  for  governor, 
nor  why  anybody  should  want  the  office.  There  is  noth 
ing  in  it.  No  man  now  can  name  the  ten  last  governors 
of  the  State  of  New  York." 

Having  tried  that  proposition  many  times  since  on  the 
average  citizen,  I  have  found  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  abso 
lutely  right.  Any  one  who  does  not  think  so  can  try  to 
solve  that  problem  himself. 

The  meeting  of  the  Electoral  College  at  the  Capitol  at 
Albany  in  1864  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and 


90  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

interesting  gatherings  ever  held  in  the  State.  People 
came  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  witness  the  formal 
ity  of  the  casting  of  the  vote  of  New  York  for  Abraham 
Lincoln.  The  members  of  the  college  were,  most  of 
them,  men  of  great  distinction  in  our  public  and  civic 
life. 

Horace  Greeley  was  elected  president  of  the  college. 
The  meeting  was  held  in  the  Senate  chamber.  When 
Mr.  Greeley  took  the  chair,  the  desk  in  front  of  him 
made  only  his  bust  visible,  and  with  his  wonderfully  in 
tellectual  face,  his  long  gray  hair  brushed  back,  and  his 
solemn  and  earnest  expression,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
impressive  figures  I  ever  saw  occupying  the  chair  as  a 
presiding  officer. 

One  of  the  electors  had  failed  to  appear.  Most  of  us 
knew  that  under  pressure  of  great  excitement  he  was 
unable  to  resist  his  convivial  tendencies,  but  no  one 
supposed  that  Mr.  Greeley  could  by  any  possibility 
know  of  his  weakness.  After  waiting  some  time  one  of 
the  electors  moved  that  the  college  take  a  recess  for 
half  a  day.  Mr.  Greeley  turned  very  pale  and,  before 
putting  the  question,  made  a  little  speech,  something 
like  this,  in  a  voice  full  of  emotion,  I  might  almost  say 
tears:  "My  brethren,  we  are  met  here  upon  the  most 
solemn  occasion  of  our  lives  in  this  crisis  of  the  republic. 
Upon  the  regularity  of  what  we  do  here  this  day  may 
depend  whether  the  republic  lives  or  dies.  I  would, 
therefore,  suggest  that  we  sit  here  in  silence  until  our 
absent  brother,  who  is  doubtless  kept  from  us  by  some 
good  reason,  shall  appear  and  take  his  seat." 

The  effect  of  this  address  upon  the  Electoral  College 
and  the  surrounding  audience  was  great.  Many  were 
in  tears,  and  the  women  spectators,  most  of  whom  were 


HORACE  GREELEY  91 

in  mourning  for  those  lost  during  the  war,  were  all 
crying. 

As  secretary  of  state  it  was  my  duty  to  have  the 
papers  all  prepared  for  execution  as  soon  as  the  college 
had  voted,  and  to  attach  to  them  the  great  seal  of  the 
State,  and  then  they  were  sent  by  special  messenger  to 
Washington  to  be  delivered  to  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  Mr.  Greeley,  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  said 
to  me:  "Chauncey,  as  I  am  not  very  familiar  with  par 
liamentary  law,  I  wish  you  would  take  a  seat  on  the 
steps  beside  me  here,  so  that  I  can  consult  you  if  neces 
sary."  After  this  effective  and  affecting  speech  he 
leaned  down  until  he  was  close  to  my  ear,  and  said: 
"Chauncey,  how  long  do  you  think  it  will  be  before  that 

d drunken  fool  will  be  able  to  return  and  take  his 

seat?" 

General  Grant's  administration  soon  aroused  great 
opposition.  Carl  Schurz,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  and 
other  leaders  became  very  hostile  to  the  administration 
and  to  a  second  term.  The  country  was  longing  for 
peace.  The  "carpet-bag"  governments  of  the  South 
were  full  of  corruption  and  incompetence  and  imposed 
upon  the  Southern  States  intolerable  burdens  of  debt. 
The  feeling  was  becoming  general  that  there  should  be 
universal  amnesty  in  order  that  the  best  and  most  capa 
ble  people  of  the  South  could  return  to  the  management 
of  their  own  affairs. 

This  led  to  the  calling  of  a  convention  of  the  Repub 
licans,  which  nominated  Horace  Greeley  for  president. 
I  had  no  desire  nor  the  slightest  intention  of  being  in 
volved  in  this  controversy,  but  was  happily  pursuing 
my  profession,  with  increasing  fondness  for  private  life. 

One  day  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  who  had  a  strong 


92  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

friendship  for  Mr.  Greeley,  but  took  no  interest  in  poli 
tics,  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Greeley  has  been  to  see  me  and 
is  very  anxious  for  you  to  assist  him.  If  you  can  aid 
him  in  any  way  I  wish  you  would." 

Afterwards  Mr.  Greeley  called  at  my  house.  "Chaun- 
cey,"  he  said  (he  always  called  me  Chauncey),  "as  you 
know,  I  have  been  nominated  by  the  Liberal  Republican 
convention  for  President  of  the  United  States.  If  I  can 
get  the  indorsement  of  the  Democratic  party  my  elec 
tion  is  assured.  My  Democratic  friends  tell  me  that  in 
•rder  to  accomplish  that  I  must  demonstrate  that  I  have 
a  substantial  Republican  following.  So  we  have  called 
a  meeting  at  Rochester,  which  is  the  capital  of  the 
strongest  Republican  counties  of  the  State.  It  is  neces 
sary  to  have  for  the  principal  speaker  some  Republican 
of  State  and  national  reputation.  I  have  selected  you 
for  that  purpose." 

To  my  protest  that  I  did  not  wish  to  enter  into  the 
contest  nor  to  take  any  part  in  active  politics,  he  said 
very  indignantly:  "I  have  supported  you  in  my  paper 
and  personally  during  the  whole  of  your  career.  I 
thought  that  if  anybody  was  capable  of  gratitude  it  is 
you,  and  I  have  had  unfortunate  experiences  with 
many."  I  never  was  able  to  resist  an  appeal  of  this 
kind,  so  I  said  impulsively:  "Mr.  Greeley,  I  will  go." 

The  meeting  was  a  marvellous  success  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  called.  It  was  purely  a  Republican 
gathering.  The  crowd  was  several  times  larger  than  the 
hall  could  accommodate.  Henry  R.  Selden,  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  one  of  the  most  emi 
nent  and  respected  Republicans  of  the  State,  presided. 
The  two  hundred  vice-presidents  and  secretaries  upon 
the  platform  I  had  known  intimately  for  years  as  Repub- 


HORACE  GREELEY  93 

lican  leaders  of  their  counties  and  districts.  The  dem 
onstration  so  impressed  the  Democratic  State  leaders 
that  at  the  national  Democratic  convention  Mr.  Greeley 
was  indorsed. 

There  were  two  State  conventions  held  simultaneously 
that  year,  one  Democratic  and  one  Liberal  Republican. , 
In  the  division  of  offices  the  Democratic  party,  being  the 
larger,  was  given  the  governorship  and  the  Liberal  Re 
publicans  had  the  lieutenant-governorship.  I  was 
elected  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Liberal  Republican 
convention  and  also  was  made  unanimously  its  nominee 
for  lieutenant-governor.  The  Democratic  convention 
nominated  Francis  Kernan,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
lawyers  of  the  State,  and  afterwards  United  States 
senator. 

If  the  election  had  been  held  early  in  the  canvass 
there  is  little  doubt  but  that  Mr.  Greeley  would  have 
carried  the  State  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  His 
difficulty  was  that  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  as  editor 
of  the  New  York  Tribune,  he  had  been  the  most  merci 
less,  bitter,  and  formidable  critic  and  opponent  of  the 
Democratic  party.  The  deep-seated  animosity  against 
him  was  fully  aroused  as  the  campaign  proceeded  by  a 
propaganda  which  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  Democrat 
these  former  slashing  editorials  of  the  New  York  Tribune. 
Their  effect  upon  the  Democratic  voters  was  evident 
after  a  while,  and  when  in  the  September  election  North 
Carolina  went  Republican,  a  great  mass  of  Republicans, 
who  had  made  up  their  minds  to  support  Mr.  Greeley, 
went  back  to  their  party,  and  he  was  overwhelmingly 
defeated. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  canvass  Mr.  Greeley  made  a 
tour  of  the  country.  There  have  been  many  such 


94  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

travels  by  presidential  candidates,  but  none  like  this. 
His  march  was  a  triumphal  procession,  and  his  audiences 
enormous  and  most  enthusiastic.  The  whole  country 
marvelled  at  his  intellectual  versatility.  He  spoke  every 
day,  and  often  several  times  a  day,  and  each  speech  was 
absolutely  new.  There  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  his 
originality,  his  freshness,  or  the  new  angles  from  which 
to  present  the  issues  of  the  canvass.  No  candidate  was 
ever  so  bitterly  abused  and  so  slandered. 

A  veteran  speaker  has  in  the  course  of  his  career  origi 
nal  experiences.  The  cordiality  and  responsiveness  of 
his  audience  is  not  always  an  index  of  their  agreement 
with  his  argument.  During  the  campaign  Mr.  Greeley 
came  to  me  and  said:  "I  have  received  encouraging 
accounts  from  the  State  of  Maine.  I  have  a  letter  from 
such  a  place"  —naming  it — "from  the  principal  of  the 
academy  there.  He  writes  me  that  the  Congregational 
minister,  who  has  the  largest  church  in  town,  the  bank 
president,  the  manufacturer,  the  principal  lawyer,  and 
himself  are  lifelong  readers  of  the  Tribune,  and  those 
steadfast  Republicans  intend  to  support  me.  He  thinks 
if  they  can  have  a  public  meeting  with  a  speaker  of 
national  reputation,  the  result  might  be  an  overturn  in 
my  favor  in  this  community,  which  is  almost  unani 
mously  Republican,  that  it  may  influence  the  whole 
State,  and,"  continued  Mr.  Greeley,  "he  suggests  you 
as  the  speaker,  and  I  earnestly  ask  you  to  go." 

When  I  arrived  at  the  place  I  was  entertained  by  the 
manufacturer.  The  audience  crowded  the  largest  hall 
in  the  town.  The  principal  of  the  academy  presided, 
the  Congregational  minister  opened  the  exercises  with  a 
prayer,  and  I  was  introduced  and  received  with  great 
cordiality. 


HORACE  GREELEY  95 

For  such  an  audience  my  line  of  talk  was  praising 
General  Grant  as  the  greatest  general  of  modern  times, 
and  how  largely  the  preservation  of  the  Union  depended 
upon  his  military  genius.  Then  to  picture  the  tremen 
dous  responsibilities  of  the  presidency  and  the  impossi 
bility  of  a  man,  however  great  as  a  soldier,  with  a  life 
time  of  military  education,  environment,  and  experi 
ences,  succeeding  in  civil  office,  especially  as  great  a  one 
as  the  presidency  of  the  United  States.  Then  came, 
naturally,  a  eulogium  of  Horace  Greeley,  the  maker  of 
public  opinion,  the  moulder  of  national  policies,  the 
most  eloquent  and  resourceful  leader  of  the  Republican 
party  since  its  formation.  The  audience  cheered  with 
great  enthusiasm  all  these  allusions  to  General  Grant, 
and  responded  with  equal  fervor  to  my  praise  of  Horace 
Greeley. 

When  I  concluded  they  stood  up  and  gave  me  cordial 
cheers,  and  the  presiding  officer  came  forward  and  said: 
"I  now  suggest  that  we  close  this  meeting  with  three 
rousing  cheers  for  Horace  Greeley."  The  principal  of 
the  academy,  the  manufacturer,  the  minister,  the  law 
yer,  a  very  few  of  the  audience,  and  several  women 
responded.  After  this  frost  a  farmer  rose  gradually, 
and  as  he  began  to  let  out  link  after  link  of  his  body, 
which  seemed  about  seven  feet  tall,  he  reached  his  full 
height,  and  then  in  a  voice  which  could  be  heard  a  mile 
shouted:  "Three  cheers  for  General  Grant!"  The  re 
sponse  nearly  took  the  roof  off  the  house.  I  left  the 
State  the  next  morning  and  told  Mr.  Greeley  that  he 
could  not  carry  Maine. 

Among  the  amusing  episodes  of  the  campaign  was  one 
which  occurred  at  an  open-door  mass  meeting  at  Water- 
town,  N.  Y.  John  A.  Dix  had  been  nominated  for  gov- 


96  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

ernor  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  I  was  speaking  of 
him  and  his  career.  He  had  changed  from  one  party  to 
the  other  five  or  six  times  in  the  course  of  his  long  career, 
and  each  time  received  an  office.  There  was  great  doubt 
as  to  his  age,  because  in  the  American  Encyclopaedia  the 
date  of  his  birth  was  given  as  of  a  certain  year,  and  in 
the  French.  Encyclopaedia,  which  published  his  biography 
when  he  was  minister  to  France,  a  widely  different  date 
was  given.  In  the  full  tide  of  partisan  oratory  I  went 
over  these  changes  of  political  activity,  and  how  each 
one  had  been  rewarded,  also  the  doubt  as  to  his  age,  and 
then  I  shouted:  "I  have  discovered  among  the  records 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  that  when  they  landed  on  Plym 
outh  Rock  they  found  John  A.  Dix  standing  on  the 
rock  and  announcing  that  unless  they  made  him  justice 
of  the  peace  he  would  join  the  Indians."  An  indignant 
farmer,  who  could  not  hold  his  wrath  any  longer,  shouted : 
"That's  a  lie !  The  Pilgrims  landed  more  than  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  years  ago. "  I  saw  that  my  interrupter  had 
swallowed  my  bait,  hook,  and  line,  bob  and  sinker,  pole 
and  all,  and  shouted  with  great  indignation:  "Sir,  I  have 
narrated  that  historical  incident  throughout  the  State, 
from  Montauk  Point  to  Niagara  Falls,  and  you  are  the 
first  man  who  has  had  the  audacity  to  question  it." 

Another  farmer  stepped  up  to  the  heckler  and  said: 
"Here  is  my  hat,  neighbor.  You  can  keep  it.  I  am 
going  bareheaded  for  the  rest  of  my  life."  In  his  up 
roarious  laughter  the  crowd  all  joined.  It  was  years 
before  the  questioning  farmer  could  visit  Watertown 
without  encountering  innumerable  questions  as  to  when 
the  Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  campaign  was  held  at  Mr. 
Greeley's  home  at  Chappaqua  in  Westchester  County. 


HORACE  GREELEY  97 

We  all  knew  that  the  contest  was  hopeless  and  defeat 
sure.  I  was  one  of  the  speakers,  both  as  his  neighbor 
and  friend,  and  accompanied  him  to  New  York.  A 
rough  crowd  on  the  train  jeered  him  as  we  rode  along. 
We  went  to  his  office,  and  there  he  spoke  of  the  lies  that 
had  been  told  about  him,  and  which  had  been  believed 
by  the  public;  of  the  cartoons  which  had  misrepresented 
him,  especially  those  of  Tom  Nast,  and  of  which  there 
were  many  lying  about.  Leaning  upon  his  desk,  a  dis 
couraged  and  hopeless  man,  he  said:  "I  have  given  my 
life  to  the  freeing  of  the  slaves,  and  yet  they  have  been 
made  to  believe  that  I  was  a  slave  driver.  It  has  been 
made  to  appear,  and  people  have  been  made  to  believe, 
that  I  was  wrong  or  faithless,  or  on  the  other  side  of  the 
reforms  which  I  have  advocated  all  my  life.  I  will  be 
beaten  in  the  campaign  and  I  am  ruined  for  life."  He 
was  overcome  with  emotion,  and  it  was  the  saddest  in 
terview  I  ever  had  with  any  one.  It  was  really  the 
breaking  of  a  great  heart.  He  died  before  the  votes 
were  counted. 

There  was  instantly  a  tremendous  revulsion  of  popu 
lar  feeling  in  the  country.  He  had  lost  his  wife  during 
the  campaign,  and  the  people  woke  up  suddenly  to  the 
sorrows  under  which  he  had  labored,  to  his  genius  as  a 
journalist,  to  his  activity  as  a  reformer,  and  to  a  useful 
ness  that  had  no  parallel  among  his  contemporaries. 
The  president-elect,  General  Grant,  and  the  vice-presi 
dent-elect,  Schuyler  Colfax,  attended  the  funeral,  and 
without  distinction  of  party  his  death  was  universally 
mourned. 

After  the  election,  in  consultation  on  railroad  affairs, 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  said  to  me,  "I  was  very  glad 
you  were  defeated,"  which  was  his  way  of  saying  that 


98  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

he  did  not  want  me  either  to  leave  the  railroad  or  to 
have  other  duties  which  would  impair  my  efficiency. 

With  the  tragic  death  of  Mr.  Greeley  the  Liberal  Re 
publican  movement  ended.  Most  of  us  who  had  fol 
lowed  him  resumed  at  once  our  Republican  party  re 
lations  and  entered  actively  into  its  work  in  the  next 
campaign.  The  revolt  was  forgiven,  except  in  very  few 
instances,  and  the  Greeley  men  went  back  to  their  old 
positions  in  their  various  localities  and  became  promi 
nent  in  the  official  life  of  the  State.  I,  as  usual,  in  the 
fall  took  my  vacation  on  the  platform  for  the  party. 


VII 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES  AND  WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS 

It  is  one  of  the  tragedies  of  history  that  in  the  proces 
sion  of  events,  the  accumulation  of  incidents,  year  by 
year  and  generation  by  generation,  famous  men  of  any 
period  so  rapidly  disappear. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  there  were  at  least  a 
score  of  generals  in  the  North,  and  as  many  in  the  South, 
whose  names  were  household  words.  About  fifty-five 
years  have  passed  since  the  war  closed,  and  the  average 
citizen  knows  only  two  of  them — Grant  and  Lee. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  General  Grant  was  to  tender  to 
Senator  Conkling  the  position  of  chief  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Conkling  had 
gained  from  the  senatorship  and  the  leadership  of  his 
party  a  great  reputation,  to  which  subsequent  service 
in  the  Senate  could  add  little  or  nothing.  He  was  in  his 
early  forties,  in  the  prime  of  his  powers,  and  he  would 
have  had  before  him,  as  chief  justice  of  this  great  court, 
a  long  life  of  usefulness  and  distinction. 

Conkling  was  essentially  an  advocate,  and  as  an  advo 
cate  not  possessing  the  judicial  temperament.  While 
there  was  a  great  surprise  that  he  declined  this  wonder 
ful  opportunity,  we  can  see  now  that  the  environment 
and  restrictions  of  the  position  would  have  made  it  im 
possible  for  this  fiery  and  ambitious  spirit.  It  was  well 
known  that  General  Grant,  so  far  as  he  could  influence 
the  actions  of  the  national  Republican  convention,  was 

99 


ioo  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  favor  of  Senator  Conkling  as  his  successor.  The  sen 
ator's  friends  believed,  and  they  made  him  believe,  that 
the  presidency  was  within  his  grasp. 

When  the  national  convention  met  it  was  discovered 
that  the  bitterness  between  the  two  leaders,  Elaine  and 
Conkling,  made  harmony  impossible.  The  bitterness  by 
that  time  was  on  Conkling's  side  against  Elaine.  With 
the  latter's  make-up,  resentment  could  not  last  very  long. 
It  is  an  interesting  speculation  what  might  have  hap 
pened  if  these  two  leaders  had  become  friends.  It  is 
among  the  possibilities  that  both  might  have  achieved 
the  great  object  of  their  ambitions  and  been  presidents 
of  the  United  States. 

The  outstanding  feature  of  that  convention  in  the  his 
tory  of  those  interesting  gatherings  was  the  speech  of 
Colonel  Robert  G.  IngersoII,  nominating  Mr.  Elaine. 
In  its  effect  upon  the  audience,  in  its  reception  by  the 
country,  and  by  itself  as  an  effort  of  that  kind,  it  stands 
unprecedented  and  unequalled. 

As  usual  in  popular  conventions,  where  the  antago 
nism  of  the  leaders  and  the  bitterness  of  their  partisan 
ship  threatens  the  unity  of  the  party,  the  result  was  the 
nomination  of  a  "dark  horse,"  and  the  convention  closed 
its  labors  by  presenting  to  the  country  General  Ruther 
ford  B.  Hayes. 

President  Hayes,  although  one  of  the  most  amiable, 
genial,  and  companionable  of  our  presidents,  with  every 
quality  to  attach  men  to  him  and  make  warm  friend 
ships,  was,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  most  isolated.  He 
inherited  all  the  business  troubles,  economic  disorganiza 
tion,  and  currency  disturbances  which  grew  out  of  the 
panic  of  1873.  ^e  was  met  with  more  bankruptcy  than 
had  ever  occurred  in  our  business  history. 


R.  B.  HAYES  AND  W.  M.  EVARTS        101 

With  rare  courage  and  the  most  perfect  good  nature, 
he  installed  essential  reforms,  which,  in  the  then  condi 
tion  of  party  organization  and  public  sentiment,  practi 
cally  offended  everybody.  He  threw  the  extreme  radi 
cals  of  his  party  into  a  frenzy  of  rage  by  wiping  out  the 
"carpet-bag"  governments  and  restoring  self-govern 
ment  for  the  South.  He  inaugurated  civil-service  re 
form,  but  in  doing  so  antagonized  most  of  the  senators 
and  members  of  the  House. 

When  he  found  that  the  collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  the  surveyor,  Alonzo  B. 
Cornell,  were  running  their  offices  with  their  vast  pat 
ronage  on  strictly  machine  lines,  and  that  this  had  the 
general  approval  of  party  leaders,  he  removed  them  and 
appointed  for  their  successors  General  Edwin  A.  Merritt 
and  Silas  W.  Burt,  with  instructions  to  remove  no  one 
on  account  of  politics,  and  to  appoint  no  one  except  for 
demonstrated  efficiency  for  the  place.  He  pursued  the 
same  policy  in  the  Internal  Revenue  and  Post-Office 
Departments.  This  policy  threatened  the  primacy  of 
the  Conkling  machine. 

President  Hayes  had  a  very  strong  Cabinet.  The  sec 
retary  of  state,  William  M.  Evarts,  and  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  John  Sherman,  were  two  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  country.  Evarts  was  the  leader  of  the  national 
bar,  and  in  crystallized  mentality  had  no  equal  in  the 
profession  or  outside  of  it.  Sherman  was  the  foremost 
and  best-informed  economist,  and  also  a  great  statesman. 

In  close  consultation  with  Sherman,  Hayes  brought 
about  the  resumption  of  specie  payment.  The  "green- 
backers,"  who  were  for  unlimited  paper,  and  the  silver 
men,  who  were  for  unlimited  coinage  of  silver,  and  who 
were  very  numerous,  joined  the  insurgent  brigade. 


102  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

While  Mr.  Hayes  retired  from  the  presidency  by  what 
might  be  called  unanimous  consent,  he  had  created  con 
ditions  which  made  possible  the  success  of  his  party  in 
1880. 

It  was  a  refreshing  experience  to  meet  the  president 
during  these  troublous  times.  While  everybody  else 
was  excited,  he  was  perfectly  calm.  While  most  of  the 
great  men  at  the  Capitol  were  raging,  he,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  avenue,  was  placid  and  serene.  He  said  once 
to  me:  "It  is  a  novel  experience  when  you  do  what  you 
think  right  and  best  for  the  country  to  have  it  so  gen 
erally  criticised  and  disapproved.  But  the  compensa 
tion  is  that  you  expect  antagonism  and  disapproval  and 
would  think  something  was  the  matter  with  your  deci 
sions  if  you  did  not  receive  them." 

The  general  abuse  to  which  he  was  subjected  from  so 
many  sources  affected  the  public's  view  of  him.  After 
he  had  left  the  presidency  he  told  me  that  he  thought  it 
was  the  duty  of  an  ex-president  to  utilize  the  prestige 
which  belonged  to  the  office  in  the  aid  of  education.  "I 
have  found,"  he  said,  "that  it  helps  enormously  in  col 
leges  and  schools  to  have  lectures,  lessons,  etc.,  in  his 
tory  and  patriotism,  and  behind  them  the  personality  of 
an  ex-president  of  the  United  States." 

As  an  illustration  of  how  distinguished  men,  when  out 
of  power,  no  longer  interest  our  people,  I  remember  I 
met  Mr.  Hayes  one  day  in  front  of  a  fruit  display  of 
a  well-known  grocery  establishment,  and  after  cordial 
greeting  said  to  the  groceryman:  "That  is  ex-President 
Hayes.  Don't  you  want  to  meet  him?"  The  grocery 
man  replied:  "I  am  not  interested  in  him,  but  I  have 
the  finest  collection  of  pears  in  the  city  and  want  to  sell 
you  some." 


R.  B.  HAYES  AND  W.  M.  EVARTS        103 

The  Capitol  was  full  of  the  rich  and  racy  characteriza 
tions,  epigrams,  and  sarcasms  which  Senator  Conkling 
was  daily  pouring  out  upon  President  Hayes,  and  espe 
cially  Secretary  Evarts.  By  all  the  rules  of  senatorial 
courtesy  in  those  machine  days,  a  member  of  the  Cabi 
net  from  New  York  should  have  been  a  friend  of  its 
United  States  senator.  Mr.  Evarts  was  too  big  a  man 
to  be  counted  in  any  other  class  or  category  except  his 
own.  Of  course,  all  these  criticisms  were  carried  to  both 
the  president  and  the  secretary  of  state.  The  president 
never  mentioned  them,  and  I  never  heard  Evarts,  though 
I  met  him  frequently,  make  any  reply  but  once. 

Dining  with  Mr.  Evarts,  who  entertained  charmingly, 
a  very  distinguished  English  jurist  among  the  guests, 
here  on  a  special  mission,  said:  "Mr.  Secretary,  I  was 
at  the  Senate  to-day  and  heard  Senator  Conkling  speak 
ing.  His  magnificent  personal  appearance,  added  to  his 
fine  oratory,  must  make  him  one  of  the  most  formidable 
advocates  at  your  bar  and  in  your  courts."  The  English 
judge  thought,  of  course,  that  Mr.  Evarts,  as  the  leader 
of  the  American  Bar  and  always  in  the  courts,  would 
know  every  lawyer  of  distinction.  Mr.  Evarts  dryly 
replied:  "I  never  saw  Mr.  Conkling  in  court." 

It  is  always  dangerous  to  comment  or  narrate  a  racy 
story  which  involves  the  personal  affliction  of  anybody. 
Dining  with  Mr.  Evarts  one  night  was  also  a  very  dis 
tinguished  general  of  our  Civil  War,  who  had  been  an 
important  figure  in  national  politics.  He  was  very  curi 
ous  to  know  about  Mr.  Tilden,  and  especially  as  to  the 
truth  of  a  report  that  Mr.  Tilden  had  a  stroke  of  paraly 
sis,  and  appealed  to  me,  as  I  was  just  from  New  York. 
I  narrated  a  story  which  was  current  at  the  time  that 
Mr.  Tilden  had  denied  the  report  by  saying  to  a  friend: 


104  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

"They  say  I  cannot  lift  my  left  hand  to  my  head."  He 
then  put  his  right  hand  under  the  left  elbow  and  shot 
the  left  one  easily  up  to  his  face  and  said:  "See  there, 
my  left  has  reached  its  goal." 

I  saw  that  Mr.  Evarts  was  embarrassed  at  the  anec 
dote  and  discovered  afterwards  that  the  distinguished 
guest  had  recently  had  a  similar  stroke  on  his  left  side 
and  could  propel  his  left  arm  and  hand  only  with  the 
assistance  of  his  right. 

My  old  bogie  of  being  put  into  office  arose  again  in 
the  senatorial  election  of  1882.  The  legislature,  for  the 
first  time  in  a  generation,  was  entirely  leaderless.  The 
old  organization  had  disappeared  and  a  new  one  had  not 
yet  crystallized. 

Mr.  Evarts  was  anxious  to  be  senator,  and  I  pledged 
him  my  support.  Evarts  was  totally  devoid  of  the  arts 
of  popular  appeal.  He  was  the  greatest  of  lawyers  and 
the  most  delightful  of  men,  but  he  could  not  canvass  for 
votes.  Besides,  he  was  entirely  independent  in  his  ideas 
of  any  organization  dictation  or  control,  and  resented 
both.  He  did  not  believe  that  a  public  man  should  go 
into  public  office  under  any  obligations,  and  resented 
such  suggestions. 

A  large  body  of  representative  men  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  for  the  country  if  New  York  could  have 
this  most  accomplished,  capable,  and  brilliant  man  in 
the  United  States  Senate.  They  urged  him  strongly 
upon  the  legislature,  none  of  whose  members  knew  him 
personally,  and  Mr.  Evarts  would  not  go  to  Albany. 

The  members  selected  a  committee  to  come  down  to 
New  York  and  see  Mr.  Evarts.  They  went  with  the 
idea  of  ascertaining  how  far  he  would  remember  with 
gratitude  those  who  elected  him.  Their  visit  was  a 


R.  B.  HAYES  AND  W.  M.  EVARTS        105 

miserable  failure.  They  came  in  hot  indignation  to  my 
office  and  said  they  did  not  propose  to  send  such  a  cold 
and  unsympathetic  man  as  their  representative  to  Wash 
ington  and  earnestly  requested  my  consent  to  their 
nominating  me  at  the  caucus  the  next  morning. 

The  committee  telephoned  to  Albany  and  received  the 
assent  of  every  faction  of  their  party  to  this  proposition. 
Then  they  proposed  that  when  the  caucus  met,  Mr. 
Evarts,  of  course,  should  receive  complimentary  speeches 
from  his  friends.  Meanwhile  others  would  be  nomi 
nated,  and  then  a  veteran  member,  whom  they  desig 
nated,  should  propose  me  in  the  interest  of  harmony  and 
the  union  of  the  party,  whereat  the  sponsors  of  the  other 
candidate  would  withdraw  their  man,  and  I  be  nomi 
nated  by  acclamation.  My  answer  was  a  most  earnest 
appeal  for  Mr.  Evarts.  Then  Mr.  Evarts's  friends  ral 
lied  to  his  support  and  he  was  elected. 

I  place  Mr.  Evarts  in  the  foremost  rank  as  a  lawyer, 
a  wit,  and  a  diplomat.  He  tried  successfully  the  most 
famous  cases  of  his  time  and  repeatedly  demonstrated 
his  remarkable  genius.  As  a  general  railway  counsel 
and,  therefore,  as  an  administrator  in  the  retaining  of 
distinguished  counsels,  I  met  with  many  of  the  best  men 
at  the  bar,  but  never  any  with  such  a  complete  and  clari 
fied  intellect  as  William  M.  Evarts.  The  mysteries  of 
the  most  complicated  cases  seemed  simple,  the  legal 
difficulties  plain,  and  the  solution  comprehensible  to 
everybody  under  his  analysis. 

Mr.  Evarts  was  the  wittiest  man  I  ever  met.  It  is 
difficult  to  rehabilitate  in  the  sayings  of  a  wit  the  com 
plete  flavor  of  the  utterance.  It  is  easier  with  a  man  of 
humor.  Evarts  was  very  proud  of  his  efforts  as  a  farmer 
on  his  large  estate  in  Vermont.  Among  his  prizes  was  a 


io6  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

drove  of  pigs.  He  sent  to  Chief  Justice  Morrison  R. 
Waite  a  copy  of  his  eulogy  on  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  Waite's  predecessor,  and  at  the  same  time  a  ham, 
saying  in  his  letter:  "My  dear  Chief  Justice,  I  send  you 
to-day  one  of  my  prize  hams  and  also  my  eulogy  on 
Chief  Justice  Chase,  both  the  products  of  my  pen." 

The  good  things  Mr,  Evarts  said  would  be  talked  of 
long  after  a  dinner.  I  remember  on  one  occasion  his 
famous  partner,  Mr.  Choate,  who  was  a  Harvard  man, 
while  Evarts  was  a  graduate  from  Yale,  introduced  Mr. 
Evarts  by  saying  that  he  was  surprised  that  a  Yale  man, 
with  all  the  prejudices  of  that  institution  against  the 
superior  advantages  of  Harvard,  should  have  risked  the 
coats  of  his  stomach  at  a  Harvard  dinner.  Mr.  Evarts 
replied:  "When  I  go  to  a  Harvard  dinner  I  always  leave 
the  coats  of  my  stomach  at  home." 

Mr.  Evarts  once  told  me  when  I  was  visiting  him  at 
his  country  place  that  an  old  man  whom  he  pointed  out, 
and  who  was  sawing  wood,  was  the  most  sensible  philos 
opher  in  the  neighborhood.  Mr.  Evarts  said:  "He  is 
always  talking  to  himself,  and  I  asked  him  why."  His 
answer  was:  "I  always  talk  to  myself  in  preference  to 
talking  to  anybody  else,  because  I  like  to  talk  to  a  sensi 
ble  man  and  to  hear  a  man  of  sense  talk." 


VIII 
GENERAL  GARFIELD 

The  triumph  of  the  Democrats  in  Maine  in  the  Sep 
tember  election,  1880,  had  a  most  depressing  effect  upon 
the  Republicans  and  an  equally  exhilarating  one  upon 
the  Democrats.  The  paralyzing  effect  of  the  simple 
utterances  in  popular  elections  almost  makes  one  think 
that  every  candidate  should  follow  Matthew  Quay's 
famous  advice  to  his  candidate  for  governor:  "Beaver, 
keep  your  mouth  shut." 

In  the  campaign  when  General  Winfield  Scott  ran  for 
the  presidency,  he  began  an  important  communication 
by  stating  that  he  would  answer  as  soon  as  he  had  taken 
a  hasty  plate  of  soup.  That  "hasty  plate  of  soup"  ap 
peared  in  cartoons,  was  pictured  on  walls,  etc.,  in  every 
form  of  ridicule,  and  was  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  his 
defeat. 

When  towards  the  close  of  the  canvass  Garfield  had 
succeeded  in  making  the  tariff  the  leading  issue,  General 
Hancock  was  asked  what  were  his  views  on  the  tariff. 
(You  must  remember  that  the  general  was  a  soldier  and 
had  never  been  in  politics.)  The  general  answered: 
"The  tariff  was  a  purely  local  issue  in  Pennsylvania." 
The  whole  country  burst  into  a  gale  of  laughter,  and 
Hancock's  campaign  had  a  crack  which  was  never 
mended. 

There  never  were  two  more  picturesque  opponents 
than  General  Garfield  and  General  Hancock.  Hancock 

107 


io8  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

was  the  idol  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  everybody 
remembered  McCIellan's  despatch  after  one  of  the  bloodi 
est  battles  of  the  Peninsula  campaign:  "Hancock  was 
superb  to-day."  He  was  an  exceedingly  handsome  man 
and  one  of  the  finest  figures  in  uniform  in  the  whole 
country. 

General  Garfield  also  presented  a  very  fine  appear 
ance.  He  was  a  large  man,  well-proportioned,  and  with 
very  engaging  manners.  He  also  had  an  unusual  faculty 
for  attractive  public  addresses,  not  only  on  politics,  but 
many  subjects,  especially  education  and  patriotism. 

I  never  can  forget  when  the  news  of  Lincoln's  assassi 
nation  reached  New  York.  The  angry  and  dangerous 
crowd  which  surged  up  and  down  Broadway  and  through 
Wall  Street  threatened  to  wreck  the  banking  and  busi 
ness  houses  which  were  supposed  to  be  sympathetic  with 
the  Confederates. 

Garfield  suddenly  appeared  on  the  balcony  of  the  Cus 
tom  House  in  Wall  Street  and  succeeded  in  stilling  the 
crowd.  With  a  voice  that  reached  up  to  Trinity  Church 
he  urged  calmness  in  thought  and  action,  deprecated  any 
violence,  and  then,  in  an  impassioned  appeal  to  hopeful 
ness  notwithstanding  the  tragedy,  exclaimed  impulsively: 
"God  reigns  and  the  Republic  still  lives." 

I  was  requested  by  some  friends  to  visit  General  Gar- 
field  and  see  how  he  felt  on  the  political  situation,  which 
during  the  campaign  of  1880  did  not  look  hopeful.  I 
took  the  next  train,  spent  the  day  with  him,  and  was 
back  in  New  York  the  following  day. 

When  I  left  the  train  at  Cleveland  in  the  morning  the 
newsboys  pushed  at  me  a  Cleveland  Democratic  daily, 
with  a  rooster's  picture  covering  the  whole  front  page, 
and  the  announcement  that  the  Democrats  had  carried 


GENERAL  GARFIELD  109 

Maine.  The  belief  was  universal  then  that  "as  Maine 
goes  so  goes  the  Union,"  and  whichever  party  carried 
that  State  in  the  September  election,  the  country  would 
follow  in  the  presidential  contest  in  November. 

I  took  the  next  train  to  Mentor,  the  residence  of  Gen 
eral  Garfield.  I  found  at  the  station  a  score  or  more  of 
country  wagons  and  carriages  waiting  for  passengers.  I 
said  to  the  farmers:  "Will  any  of  you  take  me  up  to 
General  GarfiekPs  residence ?"  One  of  them  answered: 
"We  will  all  take  you  up  this  morning,  but  if  you  had 
come  yesterday  you  would  have  had  to  wait  your  turn." 

It  was  a  startling  instance  of  the  variableness  of  pub 
lic  opinion.  Delegations  from  everywhere,  on  their  way 
to  extend  greetings  to  the  candidate,  had  read  the  morn 
ing  papers  and  turned  back,  deciding  not  to  go. 

I  found  Garfield  struggling  bravely  to  overcome  the 
depression  which  he  felt.  He  was  in  close  touch  with 
the  situation  everywhere,  and  discussed  it  with  discrimi 
nation  and  hopefulness. 

The  most  affecting  incident  occurred  while  I  was  talk 
ing  with  him.  His  mother  passed  through  the  room 
and,  patting  him  on  the  back,  said:  "James,  the  neigh 
bors  think  it  is  all  right;  they  are  raising  a  banner  at  the 


corner." 


Two  old  soldier  friends  came  in,  and  the  noonday  din 
ner  was  a  rare  intellectual  feast.  The  general  was  a 
brilliant  conversationalist.  His  mind  turned  first  to  the 
accidents  of  careers.  He  asked  me  if  there  was  not  a 
time  in  my  early  struggles  when  if  Providence  had  offered 
a  modest  certainty  I  would  not  have  exchanged  the 
whole  future  for  it,  and  then  continued:  "There  was  a 
period  in  my  early  struggles  as  a  teacher  when,  if  I  had 
been  offered  the  principalship  of  an  endowed  academy, 


i  io  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

with  an  adequate  salary,  with  the  condition  that  I  must 
devote  myself  to  its  interests  and  abandon  everything 
else,  I  am  quite  sure  I  would  have  accepted/' 

Of  course,  the  hopeful  application  of  this  incident  to 
the  Maine  defeat  was  that,  no  such  offer  having  been 
made  or  accepted,  he  had  made  a  glorious  career  in  the 
army,  rising  to  the  head  of  the  General  Staff,  and  for 
twenty  years  had  been  the  leading  figure  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  was  now  a  recently  elected  United 
States  senator  and  chosen  candidate  for  president. 

Then  he  turned  to  the  instances  where  victory  had 
been  plucked  from  defeat  in  battles.  After  citing  many 
instances  he  gave  a  word  picture  of  the  Battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga  which  was  the  finest  thing  of  the  kind  I  have  ever 
heard  or  ever  read. 

After  his  two  comrades  left  I  told  him  of  the  interest 
which  my  friends  were  taking  in  his  canvass,  and  that  I 
would  add  their  contribution  to  the  campaign  commit 
tee.  The  general  instantly  was  exultant  and  jubilant. 
He  fairly  shouted:  "Have  I  not  proved  to  you  all  day 
that  there  is  always  a  silver  lining  to  the  cloud,  and  that 
the  darkest  hour  is  just  before  dawn?" 

It  was  one  of  the  sources  of  General  GarfiekTs  success 
as  an  orator  that  he  was  very  emotional  and  sentimental. 
He  happily  carried  with  him  amid  all  struggles  and  dis 
appointments,  as  well  as  successes  in  the  making  of  a 
career,  the  buoyant,  hopeful,  companionable,  and  affec 
tionate  interests  which  characterize  the  ambitious  senior 
who  has  just  left  college  to  take  his  plunge  into  the 
activities  of  life. 

So  far  as  our  State  was  concerned,  a  great  deal  turned 
upon  the  attitude  of  Senator  Conkling.  His  great  and 
triumphant  speech  of  four  hours  at  the  Academy  of 


GENERAL  GARFIELD  in 

Music  in  New  York  brought  all  his  friends  into  line,  but 
the  greatest  help  which  General  Garfield  received  was 
from  the  generous,  unselfish,  and  enthusiastic  support  of 
General  Grant. 

General  Grant  had  been  the  leading  candidate  in  the 
convention  which  finally  nominated  Garfield,  but  he 
voluntarily  appeared  upon  the  platform  in  several 
States  and  at  GarfiekTs  home.  His  brief  but  most  effec 
tive  speeches  gathered  around  Garfield  not  only  the 
whole  of  the  old-soldier  vote  but  those  who  had  become 
disaffected  or  indifferent  because  of  the  result  of  the 
national  Republican  convention. 

There  probably  was  no  canvass  where  the  Republican 
orator  ever  had  so  many  opportunities  for  the  exercise 
of  every  faculty  which  he  possessed.  His  candidate  had 
made  an  excellent  record  as  a  soldier  in  the  field  and  as 
a  statesman  in  Congress,  as  an  educator  and  a  popular 
speaker  on  questions  of  vital  interest,  while  the  opposi 
tion  presented  abundant  opportunities  for  attack. 

After  the  presidential  election  came  the  meeting  of  the 
New  York  State  legislature  for  the  choosing  of  a  United 
States  senator.  The  legislature  was  overwhelmingly 
Republican,  and  the  organization  or  machine  Republi 
cans  were  in  a  large  majority.  The  assembly  was  organ 
ized  and  the  appointment  of  committees  used  to  make 
certain  the  election  of  an  organization  man. 

A  very  unusual  thing  happened.  The  forces  of  the 
organization  were  divided  between  two  candidates: 
Thomas  C.  Platt  and  Richard  Crowley.  Mr.  Conkling 
had  not  declared  his  preference  for  either,  as  they  were 
both  devoted  friends  of  his,  though  he  had  the  power  to 
have  made  a  selection  and  have  that  selection  accepted 
by  the  legislature.  Vice-President-elect  Chester  A.  Arthur 


ii2  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

appeared  as  manager  for  Mr.  Crowley.  Platt  conducted 
his  own  canvass. 

I  was  called  to  a  meeting  in  New  York,  where  Mr. 
Elaine,  secretary  of  state,  was  present.  Mr.  Elaine  said 
that  administration  managers  had  made  a  thorough  can 
vass  of  the  legislature  and  they  had  found  that  I  was 
the  only  one  who  could  control  enough  anti-organization 
votes  to  be  elected,  and,  therefore,  General  Garfield  and 
his  friends  had  decided  that  I  must  enter  the  race.  I  did 
not  want  to  do  it,  nor  did  I  want  the  senatorship  at  that 
time.  However,  it  seemed  a  plain  duty. 

A  canvass  showed  that  Mr.  Platt,  Mr.  Crowley,  and 
myself  had  about  an  equal  number  of  votes.  Of  course, 
Mr.  Elaine's  object  was,  knowing  that  Senator  Conkling 
would  be  hostile  to  the  administration,  to  prevent  his 
having  a  colleague  who  would  join  with  him,  and  thus 
place  the  State  of  New  York  against  the  policies  of  the 
incoming  president. 

After  the  canvass  had  been  going  on  for  some  time, 
Mr.  Platt  came  to  me  and  asked  why  I  was  in  it.  I  told 
him  frankly  that  I  was  in  it  to  see,  if  possible,  that  the 
senator-elect  should  support  the  administration.  He 
said:  "Very  well,  I  will  do  that." 

I  immediately  called  together  my  supporters.  Mr. 
Platt  appeared  before  them  and  stated  that  if  elected  he 
would  support  the  president  and  his  administration  in 
every  respect.  He  was  asked  if  he  would  vote  for  the 
confirmation  of  appointees  whom  the  president  might 
select  who  were  specially  in  disfavor  with  Senator  Conk- 
ling,  conspicuously  Senator  William  H.  Robertson.  Mr. 
Platt  said,  "Yes,  I  will."  My  friends  all  went  over  to 
him  and  he  was  elected. 

General  Garfield  was  inaugurated  in  March,  1881,  and 


GENERAL  GARFIELD  113 

his  difficulties  began  with  his  Cabinet.  Senator  Conk- 
ling,  who  saw  clearly  that  with  Elaine  in  the  Cabinet  his 
organization  was  in  danger  in  New  York,  did  not  want 
any  of  his  friends  to  accept  a  Cabinet  position.  The 
navy  was  offered  to  Levi  P.  Morton,  but  at  the  request 
of  Senator  Conkling  he  declined. 

When  the  time  came  for  appointments  in  the  Custom 
House  of  New  York,  General  Garfield  sent  in  the  name 
of  William  H.  Robertson,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  anti- 
machine  forces  in  the  State.  Mr.  Conkling  at  once  de 
manded  that  Mr.  Platt  should  join  with  him  in  inducing 
the  Senate  to  reject  the  nomination.  Under  the  rule  of 
senatorial  courtesy  the  Senate  would  undoubtedly  have 
done  this  if  the  two  New  York  senators  had  acted 
together.  Mr.  Platt  told  Mr.  Conkling  of  his  pledge  to 
the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  that  he  must  abide 
by  it,  and,  as  he  told  me,  suggested  to  Mr.  Conkling 
that,  as  he  always  had  been  his  friend  and  did  not  want 
any  breach  with  him,  the  only  thing  to  be  done,  con 
sistent  with  honor,  was  for  both  of  them  to  resign  and 
go  back  to  the  legislature  for  re-election,  with  a  mandate 
which  should  enable  them  to  reject  the  appointment  of 
Judge  Robertson  and  all  similar  appointments. 

As  the  legislature  was  overwhelmingly  Republican, 
and  the  organization  had  a  large  majority,  it  seemed  to 
both  senators  that  they  would  be  returned  immediately. 
But  it  is  singular  how  intense  partisanship  will  blind  the 
ablest  and  shrewdest  politicians.  Senators  Conkling  and 
Platt  were  among  the  ablest  and  most  capable  political 
managers  of  their  time.  What  they  did  not  reckon  with 
was  that  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  York,  or,  rather, 
the  Republicans  of  the  State,  having  just  elected  a  presi 
dent,  would  not  view  favorably  the  legislature  of  the 


ii4  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

State  sending  two  senators  to  embarrass  their  own 
administration.  There  was  hardly  a  newspaper  in  the 
State  or  in  the  country  that  did  not  take  a  hostile 
attitude. 

Mr.  Elaine  again  came  to  New  York  and  insisted  upon 
my  entering  the  canvass,  and  that  I  was  the  only  one 
who  could  get  the  whole  of  the  anti-organization  vote. 

With  the  Democrats  voting  for  their  own  candidate, 
and  the  anti-organization  men  voting  for  me,  it  was  im 
possible  for  any  one  to  have  a  majority.  The  fight  was 
most  bitter.  The  ineffectual  ballotting  went  on  every 
day  for  months.  Then  Garfield  was  assassinated.  The 
leader  of  the  Conkling  forces  came  to  me  and  said:  "You 
have  a  majority  of  the  Republican  members  now  voting 
for  you.  Of  course,  the  antagonism  has  become  so  great 
on  your  candidacy  that  we  cannot  vote  for  you,  but  if 
you  will  withdraw,  we  will  go  into  caucus." 

I  instantly  accepted  the  proposition,  saw  my  own 
people,  and  we  selected  Warner  Miller  to  represent  the 
administration,  and  Congressman  Lapham,  a  very  able 
and  capable  lieutenant  of  Mr.  Conkling,  to  represent  the 
organization.  The  caucus  unanimously  nominated  them 
and  they  were  elected.  Senator  Conkling  immediately 
settled  in  New  York  to  practise  law  and  retired  from 
political  activities. 

It  is  the  irony  of  fate  that  General  Garfield,  who  did 
more  than  any  other  statesman  to  bring  the  public  from 
its  frenzy  after  the  murder  of  Lincoln  back  to  a  calm  and 
judicious  consideration  of  national  conditions,  should 
himself  be  the  victim,  so  soon  after  his  inauguration,  of 
an  assassin. 

Lincoln  was  assassinated  in  April,  after  his  second  in 
auguration  in  March,  while  Garfield  was  shot  in  the  rail- 


GENERAL  GARFIELD  115 

way  station  at  Washington  July  2,  following  his  inaugu 
ration.  The  president  was  removed  to  a  cottage  at 
Long  Branch,  N.  J.,  and  lingered  there  with  great  suffer 
ing  for  over  two  months. 

I  was  living  at  Long  Branch  that  summer  and  going 
up  and  down  every  day  to  my  office  in  New  York.  The 
whole  country  was  in  alternate  emotions  of  hope  and 
despair  as  the  daily  bulletins  announced  the  varying 
phases  of  the  illustrious  patient's  condition.  The  people 
also  were  greatly  impressed  at  his  wonderful  self-control, 
heroic  patience,  endurance,  and  amiability. 

It  was  the  experience  of  a  lifetime  in  the  psychology 
of  human  nature  to  meet,  night  after  night,  the  people 
who  gathered  at  the  hotel  at  Long  Branch.  Most  of 
them  were  office-seekers.  There  were  those  who  had 
great  anticipations  of  Garfield's  recovery,  and  others, 
hidebound  machinists  and  organization  men,  who  thought 
if  Garfield  died  and  Vice-President  Arthur  became  presi 
dent,  he  would  bring  in  the  old  order  as  it  existed  while 
he  was  one  of  its  chief  administrators. 

There  were  present  very  able  and  experienced  news 
paper  men,  representing  every  great  journal  in  the  coun 
try.  The  evening  sessions  of  these  veteran  observers  of 
public  men  were  most  interesting.  Their  critical  analy 
sis  of  the  history  and  motives  of  the  arriving  visitors 
would  have  been,  if  published,  the  most  valuable  volume 
of  "Who's  Who"  ever  published.  When  President  Gar- 
field  died  the  whole  country  mourned. 


IX 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 

Chester  A.  Arthur  immediately  succeeded  to  the 
presidency.  It  had  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  so 
well  all  the  presidents,  commencing  with  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  now  the  occupant  of  the  White  House  was  a  lifelong 
friend. 

President  Arthur  was  a  very  handsome  man,  in  the 
prime  of  life,  of  superior  character  and  intelligence,  and 
with  the  perfect  manners  and  courtesies  of  a  trained 
man  of  the  world.  A  veteran  statesman  who  had  known 
most  of  our  presidents  intimately  and  been  in  Congress 
under  many  of  them  said,  in  reviewing  the  list  with  me 
at  the  recent  convention  at  Chicago:  "Arthur  was  the 
only  gentleman  I  ever  saw  in  the  White  House." 

Of  course,  he  did  not  mean  exactly  that.  He  meant 
that  Arthur  was  the  only  one  of  our  presidents  who  came 
from  the  refined  social  circles  of  the  metropolis  or  from 
other  capitals,  and  was  past  master  in  all  the  arts  and 
conventionalities  of  what  is  known  as  "best  society." 
He  could  have  taken  equal  rank  in  that  respect  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  afterwards  became  King  Ed 
ward  VII. 

The  "hail-fellow-well-met"  who  had  been  on  familiar 
terms  with  him  while  he  was  the  party  leader  in  New 
York  City,  found  when  they  attempted  the  old  familiari 
ties  that,  while  their  leader  was  still  their  friend,  he  was 
President  of  the  United  States. 

116 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR  117 

Arthur,  although  one  of  the  most  rigid  of  organization 
and  machine  men  in  his  days  of  local  leadership,  elevated 
the  party  standards  by  the  men  whom  he  drew  around 
himself.  He  invited  into  party  service  and  personal  in 
timacy  a  remarkable  body  of  young,  exceedingly  able 
and  ambitious  men.  Many  of  those  became  distin 
guished  afterwards  in  public  and  professional  life.  The 
ablest  of  them  all  was  a  gentleman  who,  I  think,  is  now 
universally  recognized  both  at  home  and  abroad  as  the 
most  efficient  and  accomplished  American  diplomat  and 
lawyer — Elihu  Root. 

There  is  no  career  so  full  of  dramatic  surprises  as 
the  political.  President  Hayes  put  civil-service  reform 
upon  its  feet,  and  without  the  assistance  of  necessary 
laws  vigorously  enforced  its  principles.  Among  the  vic 
tims  of  his  enforcement  was  General  Arthur,  whom  he  re 
lieved  as  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York.  To  the  sur 
prise  of  every  one  and  the  amazement  of  his  old  friends, 
one  of  the  first  acts  of  President  Arthur  was  to  demand 
the  enactment  of  a  civil-service  law,  which  had  originated 
with  the  Civil  Service  Association,  and  whose  most 
prominent  members  were  George  William  Curtis  and 
Carl  Schurz. 

The  president's  urgency  secured  the  passage  of  the 
measure.  He  then  appointed  a  thoroughgoing  Civil 
Service  Commission,  and  during  his  term  lived  up  to 
every  requirement  of  the  system.  In  doing  this  he  alien 
ated  all  his  old  friends,  and  among  them  General  Grant, 
ex-Senator  Conkling,  Thomas  C.  Platt,  and  also  Mr. 
Elaine,  whom  he  had  asked  to  remain  in  the  Cabinet  as 
secretary  of  state.  Among  them  was  also  John  Sher 
man,  whom  he  had  equally  wished  to  retain  as  secretary 
of  the  treasury. 


ii8  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Arthur's  administration,  both  in  domestic  affairs  and 
in  its  foreign  policies,  meets  the  approval  of  history  and 
the  impartial  judgment  of  posterity.  But  he  was  not 
big  enough,  nor  strong  enough,  to  contend  with  the  pow 
erful  men  who  were  antagonized,  especially  by  his  civil- 
service-reform  tendencies.  When  the  Republican  con 
vention  met  in  1884  and  nominated  a  new  ticket,  it  was 
universally  recognized  by  everybody,  including  the  presi 
dent,  that  his  political  career  had  closed. 

President  Arthur  was  one  of  the  most  delightful  of 
hosts,  and  he  made  the  White  House  the  centre  of  refined 
hospitality  and  social  charm.  He  was  a  shrewd  analyst 
of  human  nature  and  told  stories  full  of  humor  and  dra 
matic  effect  of  some  of  his  contemporaries. 

General  Arthur,  while  Republican  party  leader  in  New 
York,  invited  me  to  a  dinner  given  him  by  a  friend  who 
had  just  returned  from  a  hunting  trip  with  a  large  collec 
tion  of  fine  game.  With  the  exception  of  myself,  all  the 
guests  were  active  leaders  in  the  State  machine. 

During  the  dinner  the  general  said  to  me:  "While  we 
draft  you  every  fall  to  help  in  our  canvass,  after  we  have 
nominated  our  ticket  we  miss  you  in  our  councils,  and 
we  need  you." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "I  do  not  know  what  the  matter 
is,  nor  why  Senator  Conkling  should  have  a  continuing 
hostility,  which  I  only  feel  when  the  time  comes  around 
to  elect  delegates  to  the  State  convention." 

The  general  continued:  "We  are  unable  to  find  out 
either.  However,  it  is  absurd,  and  we  are  going  to  see 
that  you  are  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention,  and 
we  want  you  to  be  at  the  State  convention  at  Utica." 

I  went  to  Albany,  knowing  that  there  would  be  a  con 
ference  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  with  General  Arthur, 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR  119 

Governor  Cornell,  and  Senator  Conklfng,  to  lay  out  a 
programme  for  the  convention.  I  met  the  then  secretary 
of  the  State  committee,  Mr.  Johnson,  and  told  him 
about  my  conversation  with  General  Arthur.  He  said 
he  was  going  to  attend  the  conference  and  would  report 
to  me. 

When  Mr.  Johnson  returned  he  told  me  that  General 
Arthur,  Governor  Cornell,  and  others  had  strongly  urged 
my  being  a  delegate,  and  that  Senator  Conkling  became 
very  indignant  and  said  that  he  did  not  want  me  back 
in  the  organization,  and  that  it  was  a  matter  of  indiffer 
ence  on  what  side  I  was.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  I  did 
not  attend  the  convention  at  Utica. 

Mr.  Johnson  also  told  me  that  among  other  things 
decided  upon  was  that  if  General  Grant  should  be  nomi 
nated  for  a  third  term,  the  old  machine  under  Senator 
Conkling  would  be  made  stronger  than  ever;  that  the 
men  who  had  come  to  the  front  during  President  Hayes's 
administration  as  members  of  the  State  Senate  and 
assembly  and  of  Congress  would  be  retired,  and  that 
another  State  paper  would  be  established  which  would 
wipe  out  the  Albany  Evening  Journal,  because  it  had 
sustained  President  Hayes  and  his  policies. 

While  the  convention  was  in  session  at  Utica  I  had  an 
interview  with  Mr.  George  Dawson,  who  was  editor  of 
the  Albany  Evening  Journal,  and  he  became  convinced 
that  he  had  nothing  to  lose  by  entering  at  once  into  an 
open  antagonism,  if  there  was  any  way  by  which  it  could 
be  made  effective. 

I  said  to  Mr.  Dawson:  "The  only  salvation  for  those 
who  have  been  benefited  during  the  era  of  liberty  occa 
sioned  by  President  Hayes's  civil-service  policies  is  to 
prevent  the  national  convention  adopting  the  unit  rule." 


120  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  unit  rule  is  that  if  the  majority  of  the  delegates 
from  any  State  make  a  decision,  the  chairman  of  the 
delegation  shall  cast  the  entire  vote  of  the  delegation 
from  the  State  for  the  result  arrived  at  by  the  majority, 
whether  it  be  a  candidate  or  a  policy.  Under  the  unit 
rule  I  have  seen  a  bare  majority  of  one  vote  for  a  candi 
date,  and  then  the  chairman  of  the  delegation  cast  the 
entire  vote  for  the  candidate,  though  the  minority  were 
very  hostile  to  him. 

The  delegates  of  the  State  convention  at  Utica 
returned  to  Albany  that  night.  Many  of  them  were 
State  senators  whose  decapitation  was  assured  if  the 
old  machine  supported  by  federal  patronage  was  revived. 
State  Senator  Webster  Wagner  was  one  of  them.  He 
and  I  chartered  a  train  and  invited  the  whole  State  dele 
gation  to  go  with  us  to  Chicago.  In  the  preliminary 
discussions,  before  the  national  convention  met,  twenty- 
six  out  of  seventy-eight  delegates  decided  to  act  inde 
pendently. 

Wayne  MacVeagh,  a  lifelong  friend  of  mine,  had  a 
strong  following  in  the  Pennsylvania  delegation,  and 
after  he  learned  our  position  brought  over  also  his 
people.  Emory  Storrs,  who  led  the  Illinois  delegation, 
came  to  me  and  said  that  if  we  would  not  boom  Elihu  B. 
Washburne,  who  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination,  we 
would  have  the  Illinois  vote.  The  result  of  the  canvass 
was  that  the  convention  decided  against  the  unit  rule. 
This  released  so  many  individual  delegates  to  indepen 
dent  action  that  the  field  was  cleared  and  nobody  had  a 
majority.  The  leading  candidates  were  General  Grant, 
James  G.  Elaine,  and  John  Sherman. 

In  the  history  of  convention  oratory  the  nominating 
speeches  of  Senator  Conkling  for  General  Grant,  and 


CHESTER  A.   ARTHUR  121 

James  A.  Garfield  for  John  Sherman  take  the  highest 
rank.  Conklfng  took  a  lofty  position  on  the  platform. 
His  speech  was  perfectly  prepared,  delivered  with  great 
dramatic  effect,  and  received  universal  applause  on  the 
floor  and  in  the  gallery. 

General  Garfield,  on  the  other  hand,  also  a  fine-looking 
man  and  a  practised  orator,  avoided  the  dramatic  ele 
ment,  in  which  he  could  not  compete  with  Conkling,  but 
delivered  a  speech  along  the  line  of  the  average  thought 
and  general  comprehension  of  his  audience  that  made  a 
great  impression.  It  was  a  common  remark:  "He  has 
nominated  himself." 

There  were  among  the  audience  thousands  of  Elaine 
enthusiasts.  No  public  man  since  Lincoln  ever  had 
such  enthusiastic,  devoted,  and  almost  crazy  followers 
as  Mr.  Elaine.  These  enthusiasts  were  waiting  to  raise 
the  roof  and  secure  the  nomination  of  their  candidate 
when  the  chosen  orator  should  present  their  favorite. 

The  gentleman  selected  to  present  Mr.  Elaine  was 
eminent  in  business  and  great  enterprises,  but  I  doubt  if 
he  had  ever  spoken  before  except  to  a  board  of  directors. 
Of  course,  in  that  vast  hall  such  a  man  was  fearfully 
handicapped  and  could  not  be  very  well  heard.  He 
closed  by  naming  his  candidate  somewhat  like  this:  "I 
now  have  the  pleasure  and  honor  of  proposing  as  the 
candidate  of  this  convention  that  eminent  statesman, 
James  S.  Elaine."  Nearly  every  one  in  the  convention 
knew  that  Mr.  Elaine's  middle  name  was  Gillespie. 

The  Elaine  followers,  whose  indignation  had  been 
growing  throughout  the  speech,  because  they  expected 
the  very  highest  type  of  oratory  for  their  favorite, 
shouted  in  chorus,  "G.,  you  fool,  G. !" 

When  General  Garfield  was  voted  for,  he  indignantly 


122  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

repudiated  the  votes  as  an  imputation  upon  his  honor, 
as  he  was  there  to  nominate  his  friend,  John  Sherman. 
Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  presided  at 
the  convention.  He  interrupted  Garfield  by  calling  him 
to  order,  as  it  was  not  in  order  to  interrupt  the  calling  of 
the  roll,  and  he  did  so  for  fear  that  Garfield  would  go  so 
far  as  to  say  he  would  not  accept  the  nomination  if  it 
were  made.  On  the  last  ballot  State  after  State,  each 
striving  to  get  ahead  of  the  other,  changed  its  vote  from 
Sherman  or  Elaine  to  Garfield,  and  he  was  nominated. 

I  sat  close  to  him  as  a  visitor  to  the  Ohio  delegation. 
It  was  a  curious  exhibit  of  the  ambition  of  a  lifetime 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  realized  by  a  highly  sensitive 
and  highly  wrought-up  man.  He  was  so  overcome  that 
he  practically  had  to  be  carried  out  of  the  convention  by 
his  friends. 

Senator  Conkling  was  very  indignant  at  the  result  and 
expressed  his  anger  with  his  usual  emphasis  and  pic- 
turesqueness.  The  Ohio  leaders  were  then  anxious  to 
placate  New  York,  but  Conkling  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  them.  They  then  came  to  us,  who  had  been 
opposed  to  the  unit  rule,  and  wanted  suggestions  as  to 
which  New  Yorker  they  should  select  for  vice-president. 
Levi  P.  Morton  was  suggested.  Mr.  Morton  said  he 
would  accept  if  Senator  Conkling  was  willing  to  agree 
to  it,  and  that  he  would  not  act  without  the  senator's 
acquiescence,  as  he  was  an  organization  man.  The 
senator  refused  his  consent,  and  told  Mr.  Morton  that 
no  friend  of  his  would  go  on  the  ticket. 

It  was  then  suggested  that  they  try  General  Arthur, 
who  was  Conkling's  first  lieutenant  and  chairman  of  the 
Republican  State  Committee  of  New  York.  Senator 
Conkling  made  the  same  answer  to  General  Arthur,  but 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR  123 

he  frankly  said  to  Conkling:  "Such  an  honor  and  oppor 
tunity  comes  to  very  few  of  the  millions  of  Americans, 
and  to  that  man  but  once.  No  man  can  refuse  it,  and  I 
will  not."  And  so  General  Arthur  was  nominated  for 
vice-president. 


X 
GROVER  CLEVELAND 

Grover  Cleveland  was  a  remarkable  man.  He  had 
more  political  courage  of  the  General  Jackson  type  than 
almost  any  man  who  ever  held  great  responsible  posi 
tions.  He  defied  Tammany  Hall  while  governor  of  the 
State,  and  repeatedly  challenged  the  strongest  elements 
of  his  party  while  president.  Threats  of  defeat  or  retali 
ation  never  moved  him.  If  he  had  once  made  up  his 
mind  and  believed  he  was  right,  no  suggestions  of  expe 
diency  or  of  popularity  had  any  influence  on  him. 

In  personal  intercourse  he  made  friends  and  had  great 
charm.  The  campaign  against  him  when  he  ran  for 
governor  of  New  York  was  ruthlessly  conducted.  I  con 
sidered  the  actions  of  his  enemies  as  unfair  and  that 
they  would  react  in  the  canvass.  I  studiously  dis 
credited  all  in  my  speeches,  and  begged  our  people  not 
to  feature  them. 

I  knew  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  as  an  evidence  of  my 
appreciation  of  his  character  and  ability,  when  the  office 
of  general  counsel  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  at 
Buffalo  became  vacant,  I  offered  it  to  him,  saying:  "I 
am  exceedingly  anxious  that  you  should  accept  this 
place.  I  think,  by  an  adjustment  of  the  administration 
of  your  office,  you  can  retain  your  private  practice,  and 
this  will  add  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  a  year  to 
your  income." 

Mr.  Cleveland  replied:  "I  have  a  very  definite  plan  of 
life  and  have  decided  how  much  work  I  can  do  without 

124 


GROVER  CLEVELAND  125 

impairing  my  health,  and  how  much  of  additional 
responsibility  I  can  assume.  I  have  accumulated  about 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars  and  my  practice  yields  me 
an  income  which  is  sufficient  for  my  wants  and  a  prudent 
addition  for  my  old  age  to  my  capital.  No  amount  of 
money  whatever  would  tempt  me  to  add  to  or  increase 
my  present  work." 

I  doubt  if  there  were  many  lawyers  in  the  United 
States  who  had  that  philosophy  or  control  of  their  ambi 
tions.  His  annual  income  from  his  profession  was  con 
siderably  less  than  the  compensation  offered  by  the  gen 
eral  counselship  of  the  New  York  Central. 

Cleveland  was  most  satisfactory  as  president  in  his 
quick  and  decisive  judgment  upon  matters  presented  to 
him.  There  were  no  delays,  no  revisions;  in  fact,  no 
diplomatic  methods  of  avoiding  a  disagreeable  decision. 
He  told  you  in  the  briefest  time  and  in  the  clearest  way 
what  he  would  do. 

A  great  social  leader  and  arbiter  in  social  affairs  in 
New  York  was  very  desirous  that  the  president  should 
reverse  his  judgment  in  regard  to  an  appointment  affect 
ing  a  member  of  his  family.  I  gave  him  a  letter  which 
procured  him  a  personal  and  confidential  interview. 
When  he  came  back  to  me  he  said:  "That  is  the  most 
extraordinary  man  I  ever  saw.  After  he  had  heard  me 
through,  he  said  he  understood  the  matter  thoroughly 
and  would  not  change  his  opinion  or  action.  He  has  no 
social  position  and  never  had.  I  tried  to  present  its 
attractions  and  my  ability  to  help  him  in  that  regard, 
but  he  only  laughed;  yes,  he  positively  laughed." 

While  President  Hayes  had  difficulty  with  civil-ser 
vice  reform  and  incurred  the  hostility  of  the  Republican 
organization  and  machine  men,  the  situation  with  him 


126  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

was  far  less  difficult  than  it  was  with  Cleveland,  who 
was  a  sincere  civil-service  reformer,  and  also  an  earnest 
Democrat.  While  a  Democratic  senator  from  Ohio,  Mr. 
Pendleton,  had  passed  a  bill  during  the  Hayes  adminis 
tration  for  reform  in  the  civil  service,  the  great  majority 
of  the  Democratic  party  believed  in  Secretary  Marcy's 
declaration  that  "to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 

There  was  an  aggravation,  also,  growing  out  of  the  fact 
that  the  Democrats  had  been  out  of  office  for  twenty- 
four  years.  We  can  hardly  visualize  or  conceive  now  of 
their  hunger  for  office.  The  rule  for  rescuing  people 
dying  of  starvation  is  to  feed  them  in  very  small  quanti 
ties,  and  frequently.  By  trying  this,  the  president  be 
came  one  of  the  most  unpopular  of  men  who  had  ever 
held  office;  in  fact,  so  unpopular  among  the  Democratic 
senators  and  members  of  the  House  that  a  story  which 
Zebulon  Vance,  of  North  Carolina,  told  went  all  over  the 
country  and  still  survives.  Vance,  who  had  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  citizens  of  North  Carolina  on  his  waiting 
list,  and  could  get  none  of  them  appointed,  said  that  the 
situation,  which  ought  to  be  one  of  rejoicing  at  the  elec 
tion  of  a  president  by  his  own  party,  was  like  that  of  a 
client  of  his  who  had  inherited  a  farm  from  his  father. 
There  were  so  many  difficulties  about  the  title  and  get 
ting  possession  of  it  and  delay,  that  the  son  said:  "I 
almost  wished  father  had  not  died." 

However,  Mr.  Cleveland,  in  his  deliberate  way  did 
accomplish  the  impossible.  He  largely  regained  favor 
with  his  party  by  satisfying  their  demands,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  enlarged  the  scope  of  civil-service  require 
ments  as  to  receive  the  commendation  of  the  two  great 
leaders  of  the  civil-service  movement — George  William 
Curtis  and  Carl  Schurz. 


GROVER  CLEVELAND  127 

President  Cleveland  entered  upon  his  second  term 
with  greater  popularity  in  the  country  than  most  of  his 
predecessors.  When  he  retired  from  office,  it  was  prac 
tically  by  unanimous  consent.  It  is  among  the  tragedies 
of  public  life  that  he  lost  entirely  the  confidence  of  his 
party  and,  in  a  measure,  of  the  whole  people  by  render 
ing  to  his  country  the  greatest  public  service. 

A  strike  of  the  men  on  the  railroads  tied  up  transpor 
tation.  Railroads  are  the  arteries  of  travel,  commerce, 
and  trade.  To  stop  them  is  to  prevent  the  transporta 
tion  of  provisions  or  of  coal,  to  starve  and  freeze  cities 
and  communities.  Cleveland  used  the  whole  power  of 
the  federal  government  to  keep  free  the  transportation 
on  the  railways  and  to  punish  as  the  enemies  of  the 
whole  people  those  who  were  trying  to  stop  them.  It 
was  a  lesson  which  has  been  of  incalculable  value  ever 
since  in  keeping  open  these  great  highways. 

He  forced  through  the  repeal  of  the  silver  purchasing 
law  by  every  source  and  pressure  and  the  unlimited  use 
of  patronage.  His  party  were  almost  unanimous  for  the 
silver  standard  and  resented  this  repeal  as  a  crime,  but 
it  saved  the  country  from  general  bankruptcy.  Except 
in  the  use  of  patronage  to  help  his  silver  legislation,  he 
offended  his  party  by  improving  the  civil  service  and 
retaining  Theodore  Roosevelt  as  head  of  the  Civil  Ser 
vice  Commission.  These  crises  required  from  the  presi 
dent  an  extraordinary  degree  of  courage  and  steadfast 
ness. 

While  Mr.  Cleveland  was  in  such  unprecedented  popu 
lar  disfavor  when  he  retired  to  private  life,  his  fame  as 
president  increases  through  the  years,  and  he  is  rapidly 
assuming  foremost  position  in  the  estimation  of  the 
people. 


128  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Mr.  Cleveland  had  a  peculiar  style  in  his  speeches  and 
public  documents.  It  was  criticised  as  labored  and  that 
of  an  essayist.  I  asked  him,  after  he  had  retired  to 
private  life,  how  he  had  acquired  it.  He  said  his  father 
was  a  clergyman  and  he  had  been  educated  by  him 
largely  at  home.  His  father  was  very  particular  about 
his  compositions  and  his  English,  so  that  he  acquired  a 
ministerial  style.  The  result  of  this  was  that  whenever 
any  of  the  members  of  the  local  bar  died,  he  was  called 
upon  to  write  the  obituary  resolutions. 

To  take  a  leap  over  intervening  years:  After  Mr. 
Cleveland  retired  from  his  second  term  I  used  to  meet 
him  very  frequently  on  social  occasions  and  formal  cele 
brations.  He  soon  left  the  practice  of  law  and  settled 
in  Princeton,  where  he  did  great  and  useful  service,  until 
he  died,  as  trustee  of  the  university  and  a  lecturer  before 
the  students. 

Riding  in  the  same  carriage  with  him  in  the  great  pro 
cession  at  the  funeral  of  General  Sherman,  he  reminisced 
most  interestingly  in  regard  to  his  experiences  while 
president.  Every  little  while  there  would  break  out  a 
cheer  and  then  a  shout  in  the  crowd  of  one  of  the  old 
campaign  cries:  "Grover,  Grover,  four  years  more." 
Mr.  Cleveland  remarked:  "I  noticed  while  president  a 
certain  regularity  and  recrudescence  of  popular  applause, 
and  it  was  the  same  in  every  place  I  visited."  That  cry, 
"Grover,  Grover,  four  years  more  I"  would  occur  every 
third  block,  and  during  our  long  ride  the  mathematical 
tradition  was  preserved. 


XI 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON 

The  year  1888  was  one  of  singular  experience  for  me. 
I  was  working  very  hard  in  my  professional  duties  and 
paying  no  attention  to  public  affairs. 

The  district  conventions  to  send  delegates  to  the 
national  convention  at  Chicago  began  electing  their 
delegates  and  alternates,  and  passing  resolutions  in 
structing  them  to  vote  for  me  as  their  candidate  for 
president. 

After  several  districts  had  thus  acted  I  was  asked  to 
meet  in  Whitelaw  Reid's  office  in  the  Tribune  Building 
Thomas  C.  Platt,  our  State  leader,  and  United  States 
Senator  Frank  Hiscock.  Platt  demanded  to  know  why 
I  was  making  this  canvass  without  consulting  the  organ 
ization  or  informing  them.  I  told  him  I  was  doing 
nothing  whatever  by  letter,  telegram,  or  interview;  that 
I  had  seen  no  one,  and  no  one  had  been  to  see  me. 

Mr.  Platt,  who  had  been  all  his  life  accomplishing 
things  through  the  organization,  was  no  believer  in 
spontaneous  uprisings,  and  asked  me  frankly:  "Are  you 
a  candidate?"  I  told  him  I  was  not,  because  I  did  not 
believe  I  could  be  nominated  with  the  present  condition 
of  the  public  mind  in  regard  to  railways,  and  I  was  presi 
dent  of  one  of  the  largest  systems. 

Then  it  was  suggested  that  I  permit  the  Tribune, 
which  was  the  party  organ,  to  state  that  I  was  not  a 
candidate  and  did  not  want  to  be.  The  next  morning 
the  Tribune  had  that  fully  explained.  The  conventions 

129 


1 30  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

kept  on  convening  and  instructing  their  delegates  the 
same  way. 

Another  conference  was  called,  and  then  I  was  asked 
to  make  the  statement  that  if  nominated  I  would  not 
accept,  and  if  elected  I  would  decline.  I  said  to  my 
conferees:  "Gentlemen,  there  is  no  American  living  big 
enough  to  say  that.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  gross  egotism 
to  think  such  a  thing  might  happen."  The  result  was 
that  the  organization  accepted  the  situation. 

The  only  way  that  I  can  account  for  this  unanimous 
action  of  the  party  in  its  conventions  in  the  congressional 
districts  of  the  State  is  the  accumulative  result  of  appre 
ciation  of  unselfish  work  for  the  party.  Every  fall,  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  had  been  on  the  platform  in 
every  part  of  the  State,  and  according  to  my  means  was 
a  contributor  to  the  State  and  local  canvass.  During 
this  period  I  had  asked  nothing  and  would  accept  noth 
ing.  If  I  may  apply  so  large  a  phrase  to  a  matter  so 
comparatively  unimportant,  I  would  deny  the  often 
quoted  maxim  that  "republics  are  ungrateful." 

When  the  convention  met  there  was  an  overwhelming 
sentiment  for  Mr.  Elaine,  but  his  refusal  was  positive 
and  absolute.  I  had  always  been  a  warm  supporter  and 
friend  of  Mr.  Elaine,  and  his  followers  were  very  friendly 
to  me. 

What  were  called  "the  Granger  States,"  and  especially 
Iowa,  had  become  very  hostile  to  railway  management 
and  railway  men.  They  were  passing  laws  which  were 
practically  confiscatory  of  railway  securities.  The  com 
mittees  from  those  States  visited  all  other  State  delega 
tions  and  spoke  in  bitter  terms  of  my  candidacy.  The 
strength  of  my  candidacy  was  that  New  York  was  unani 
mously  for  me,  except  for  one  vote  from  New  York 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON  131 

City,  and  no  nominee  could  hope  to  be  elected  unless  he 
could  carry  New  York. 

After  receiving  ninety-nine  votes,  I  found  that  on  the 
next  ballot  my  vote  would  be  very  largely  increased,  and 
decided  to  retire.  I  called  together  the  New  York  dele 
gation  and  stated  my  position,  and  the  reason  for  it.  A 
considerable  debate  took  place.  The  motion  was  made 
and  unanimously  carried  that  the  four  delegates  at  large 
should  meet  and  see  if  they  could  agree  upon  a  candidate 
who  would  command  the  support  of  the  entire  delegation 
of  the  State.  The  object  was,  of  course,  to  make  the 
State,  with  its  larger  number  of  delegates  than  any  other 
commonwealth,  a  deciding  factor  in  the  selection. 

The  delegates  at  large  were:  Thomas  C.  Platt,  Senator 
Frank  Hiscock,  Warner  Miller,  and  myself.  When  we 
met,  Platt  and  Hiscock  declared  for  Senator  Allison  of 
Iowa.  Warner  Miller  with  equal  warmth  announced 
that  he  was  for  John  Sherman. 

A  heated  controversy  arose  between  Mr.  Platt  and 
Mr.  Miller,  during  which  Mr.  Platt  said  that  neither 
he  nor  any  of  his  friends  would  vote  for  Sherman  if  he 
was  nominated.  Senator  Hiscock,  who  was  always  a 
pacifier,  interrupted  them,  saying:  "Mr.  Depew  has  said 
nothing  as  yet.  I  suggest  that  we  hear  his  views." 

Mr.  Platt  and  Mr.  Miller  responded  to  this  suggestion 
and  I  replied:  "Gentlemen,  New  York  has  given  to  me 
its  cordial  and  practically  unanimous  support,  and  I 
have  felt  under  the  circumstances  that  I  should  follow 
and  not  lead.  The  situation  which  has  grown  out  of  this 
discussion  here  eliminates  two  candidates.  Without  the 
aid  of  Senator  Platt  and  his  friends,  Mr.  Sherman  could 
not  carry  New  York.  Iowa  has  gone  to  the  extreme  of 
radical  legislation  which  threatens  the  investment  in 


i32  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

securities  of  her  railroads,  and  New  York  is  such  a  capi 
talistic  State  that  no  man  identified  with  that  legisla 
tion  could  carry  a  majority  of  the  vote  of  its  people,  and 
that  makes  Allison  impossible.  There  is  one  candidate 
here  who  at  present  apparently  has  no  chance,  but  who, 
nevertheless,  seems  to  me  to  possess  more  popular  quali 
fications  than  any  other,  and  that  is  General  Benjamin 
Harrison,  of  Indiana.  I  do  not  know  him,  never  met 
him,  but  he  rose  from  the  humblest  beginnings  until  he 
became  the  leader  of  the  bar  of  his  State.  He  enlisted 
in  the  Civil  War  as  a  second  lieutenant,  and  by  con 
spicuous  bravery  and  skill  upon  the  battle-field  came  out 
as  brigadier-general.  As  United  States  senator  he  be 
came  informed  about  federal  affairs.  His  grandfather, 
President  William  H.  Harrison,  had  one  of  the  most  pic 
turesque  campaigns  in  our  history.  There  are  enough 
survivors  of  that  /hard  cider  and  log  cabin'  canvass  to 
make  an  attractive  contribution  on  the  platform  at  every 
meeting,  and  thus  add  a  certain  historic  flavor  to  Gen 
eral  Harrison's  candidacy." 

After  some  discussion  the  other  three  agreed.  We 
reported  our  conclusion  to  the  delegation,  which  by  an 
overwhelming  majority  assented  to  the  conclusions  of 
the  four  delegates  at  large.  This  decision  settled  the 
question  in  the  convention,  and  after  a  few  ballots  Gen 
eral  Harrison  was  nominated.  New  York  was  awarded 
the  vice-presidency  and  selected  Levi  P.  Morton. 

During  Harrison's  administration  I  was  absorbed  in 
my  duties  as  president  of  the  New  York  Central  Rail 
road,  and  was  seldom  in  Washington.  But  soon  after 
his  inauguration  he  sent  to  me  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Indiana  with  a  special  message.  This  congressman 
said:  "I  come  from  President  Harrison,  and  he  has  in- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON  133 

structed  me  to  offer  you  a  place  in  his  Cabinet.  He  is 
anxious  to  have  you  in  his  official  family." 

I  told  him  that  I  was  not  prepared  to  enter  public  life, 
and  while  I  was  exceedingly  gratified  by  the  offer,  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  accept. 

The  congressman  said:  "I  am  a  poor  man,  but  cannot 
understand  how  anybody  can  refuse  to  be  member  of 
the  Cabinet  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  If 
such  an  offer  was  made  to  me,  and  the  conditions  of  our 
overruling  Providence  were  that  I  and  my  family  should 
live  in  want  and  poverty  for  the  rest  of  our  lives,  I  would 
accept  without  hesitation." 

I  had  met  Benjamin  Harrison  as  we  passed  through 
Indianapolis  on  business  during  the  canvass,  for  the  first 
time.  I  was  much  impressed  with  him,  but  his  auster 
ity  appeared  to  those  who  called  upon  him  while  pres 
ent  upon  official  business.  I  found  him  one  of  the  most 
genial  and  agreeable  of  men,  and  this  impression  was 
intensified  when  I  met  him  at  the  White  House.  At  his 
own  table  and  family  dinners  he  was  one  of  the  most 
charming  of  hosts.  He  had,  unfortunately,  a  repellent 
manner  and  a  harsh  voice.  In  meeting  those  who  came 
to  him  for  official  favors  this  made  him  one  of  the  most 
unpopular  presidents  with  senators  and  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

On  the  platform  as  a  public  speaker  he  had  few  equals. 
He  was  most  lucid  and  convincing,  and  had  what  few 
orators  possess,  which  was  of  special  use  to  him  in  cam 
paigning  and  touring  the  country  as  president,  the 
ability  to  make  a  fresh  speech  every  day  and  each  a 
good  one.  It  was  a  talent  of  presenting  questions  from 
many  angles,  each  of  which  illuminated  his  subject  and 
captivated  his  audience.  It  was  said  of  him  by  a  sen- 


i34  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

ator  who  was  his  friend,  and  the  remark  is  quoted  by 
Senator  Hoar,  that  if  he  spoke  to  an  audience  of  ten 
thousand  people,  he  would  make  every  one  of  them  his 
friend,  but  if  he  were  introduced  to  each  of  them  after 
wards,  each  would  depart  his  enemy.  I  think  that  his 
manner,  which  was  so  unfortunate,  came  from  the  fact 
that  his  career  had  been  one  of  battle,  from  his  early 
struggles  to  his  triumphant  success. 

A  short  time  before  the  national  convention  met  in 
1892  Senator  Frank  Hiscock  came  to  me  and  said  that 
President  Harrison  had  requested  him  to  ask  me  to  lead 
his  forces  on  the  floor  in  the  convention.  I  said  to  him 
that  I  was  a  loyal  organization  man  and  did  not  want 
to  quarrel  with  our  leader,  Senator  Platt.  Then  he  told 
me  that  he  had  seen  Platt,  who  remarked  that  no  one 
could  help  Harrison,  and  that  I  would  conduct  the  cam 
paign  in  better  spirit  than  any  one,  and  so  he  had  no 
objection  to  my  accepting  the  position.  There  was  one 
obstacle  which  I  wished  removed.  I  was  devoted  to  Mr. 
Elaine  and  not  only  was  one  of  his  political  supporters 
but  very  fond  of  him  personally.  Mr.  Elaine  happened 
to  be  in  the  city,  and  I  immediately  called  upon  him. 
His  health  was  then  very  bad. 

"Mr.  Elaine,"  I  said  to  him,  "if  you  are  a  candidate, 
you  know  I  will  support  you  with  the  greatest  of  plea 
sure,  but  if  not,  then  I  will  accept  the  invitation  of  the 
president." 

Mr.  Elaine  was  most  cordial.  He  said  that  he  had  no 
objections  whatever  to  my  taking  the  commission,  but 
he  doubted  if  the  president  could  be  renominated,  and 
that  he  could  not  be  re-elected  if  nominated.  Harrison 
had  made  an  excellent  president,  but  his  manner  of  treat 
ing  people  who  came  to  him  had  filled  the  country  with 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON  135 

bitter  and  powerful  enemies,  while  his  friends  were  very 
few. 

Then  he  mentioned  several  other  possible  candidates, 
but  evidently  doubted  the  success  of  the  Republican 
party  in  the  election.  In  regard  to  himself  he  said:  "If 
I  should  accept  the  nomination  I  could  not  endure  the 
labors  of  the  canvass  and  its  excitements.  It  would  kill 
me."  That  diagnosis  of  his  condition  was  correct  and 
was  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  he  died  soon  after 
the  election,  but  long  before  he  could  be  inaugurated  if 
elected. 

AH  organization  leaders  of  the  party  were  united 
against  the  nomination  of  President  Harrison.  The 
leaders  were  Platt,  Quay,  and  Clarkson,  who  was  also 
chairman  of  the  national  committee.  They  were  the 
greatest  masters  of  organization  and  of  its  management 
we  ever  had  in  politics,  especially  Platt  and  Quay. 
Their  methods  were  always  secret,  so  I  decided  that 
the  only  hope  of  success  for  President  Harrison  was  in 
the  greatest  publicity. 

The  position  I  had  accepted  soon  became  known,  and 
I  began  to  give  the  fullest  interviews,  each  one  an  argu 
ment  for  the  renomination  of  the  president.  I  went  to 
Chicago  a  few  days  in  advance  of  the  convention,  was 
met  there  by  correspondents  of  the  press,  some  fifty  of 
them,  and  gave  them  a  talk  in  a  body,  which  made  a 
broadside  in  the  morning  papers,  each  correspondent 
treating  it  in  his  own  way,  as  his  own  individual  in 
terview. 

This  statement  or,  rather,  argument,  was  intended  to 
be  read  and  succeeded  in  being  so  by  the  delegates  from 
everywhere  who  were  on  their  way  to  the  convention  and 
had  to  pass  through  Chicago.  The  convention  was  held 


136  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  Minneapolis.  I  received  from  that  city  an  invitation  to 
address  a  gathering  of  New  Yorkers  who  had  settled  in 
the  West  to  speak  before  two  patriotic  audiences,  and 
to  make  the  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  great  hall 
where  the  convention  was  to  meet. 

It  was  evident  that  before  these  engagements  had  been 
concluded,  every  delegate  would  have  attended  some  of 
these  meetings,  and,  therefore,  with  the  relationship  be 
tween  a  speaker  and  his  audience,  I  would  be  practically 
the  only  man  in  the  convention  who  was  personally 
known  to  every  member.  This  relationship  was  an 
enormous  benefit  in  conducting  the  canvass. 

The  great  organization  leaders  were  difficult  of  access 
and  carried  on  their  campaign  through  trusted  members 
of  each  State  delegation.  My  rooms  were  wide  open  for 
everybody.  On  account  of  the  conflicting  statements 
made  by  members  of  the  State  delegations,  it  was  very 
difficult  to  make  an  accurate  and  detailed  list  of  those 
who  were  for  the  president,  and  those  who  were  for  Mr. 
Blaine.  It  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  help  to  call  a 
meeting  of  the  Harrison  delegates.  Many  thought  it 
was  hazardous,  as  it  might  develop  a  majority  the  other 
way. 

The  meeting  was  attended,  however,  by  every  dele 
gate,  those  opposed  coming  out  of  curiosity.  Taking  the 
chair,  I  asked  some  member  of  each  delegation  to  arise 
and  state  how  many  votes  he  believed  could  be  relied 
upon  from  his  State.  Of  course  the  statement  of  each 
delegate  was  often  loudly  challenged  by  others  from  his 
State  who  were  present.  When  the  result  was  announced 
it  showed  a  majority  of  three  for  General  Harrison.  A 
veteran  campaigner  begged  me  to  announce  it  as  fifty, 
but  I  refused.  "No,"  I  said,  "the  closeness  of  the  vote 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON  137 

when  there  is  every  opportunity  for  manipulation  would 
carry  conviction." 

An  old  gentleman  who  stood  beside  me  had  a  gold- 
headed  ebony  cane.  I  seized  it  and  rapped  it  on  the 
table  with  such  force  that  it  broke  in  two  and  announced 
that  the  figures  showed  absolute  certainty  of  President 
Harrison's  renomination.  I  doubt  if  there  was  a  reli 
able  majority,  but  the  announcement  of  this  result 
brought  enough  of  those  always  anxious  to  get  on  the 
band-wagon  to  make  it  certain. 

Soon  after  arriving  home  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
owner  of  the  cane.  He  wrote:  "I  was  very  angry  when 
you  broke  my  cane.  It  was  a  valued  birthday  present 
from  my  children.  It  is  now  in  a  glass  case  in  my 
library,  and  on  the  case  is  this  label:  'This  cane  nomi 
nated  a  president  of  the  United  States/ ' 

Mr.  McKinley,  then  Governor  of  Ohio,  presided  at  the 
convention.  I  stood  close  beside  him  when  I  made  my 
speech  for  Harrison's  renomination.  While  thoroughly 
prepared,  the  speech  was  in  a  way  extemporaneous  to 
meet  calls  or  objections.  In  the  midst  of  a  sentence  Mc 
Kinley  said  to  me  in  a  loud  voice:  "You  are  making  a 
remarkably  fine  speech."  The  remark  threw  me  off  my 
balance  as  an  opposition  would  never  have  done.  I  lost 
the  continuity  and  came  near  breaking  down,  but  hap 
pily  the  applause  gave  me  time  to  get  again  upon  the 
track. 

Among  my  colleagues  in  the  New  York  delegation  was 
James  W.  Husted.  General  Husted  was  very  ill  and  un 
able  to  leave  his  room  during  the  convention.  He  sent 
for  me  one  morning  and  said:  "I  have  just  had  a  call 
from  Governor  McKJnley.  He  says  that  you  have  the 
power  to  nominate  him,  and  that  Harrison  cannot  be 


138  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

nominated.  If  you  will  direct  the  Harrison  forces  for 
him,  he  will  be  the  next  president." 

I  told  Husted  I  was  enlisted  for  the  war  and,  while 
having  a  great  admiration  for  McKinley,  it  was  impos 
sible. 

Soon  after  arriving  home  I  received  an  invitation  from 
the  president  to  visit  him  at  Washington.  I  took  the 
night  train,  arriving  there  in  the  morning.  My  appoint 
ment  was  to  lunch  with  him. 

During  the  morning  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  then  secretary 
of  war,  called  and  asked  me  to  take  a  walk.  While  we 
were  walking  he  told  me  that  the  president  was  going  to 
offer  me  the  secretaryship  of  state,  in  succession  to  Mr. 
Elaine,  and  that  I  ought  to  accept.  He  then  led  me  to 
the  State  Department  and  pointed  to  the  portraits  on 
the  walls  of  the  different  secretaries,  commencing  with 
Thomas  Jefferson.  Elkins  said  that  to  be  in  that  list 
was  a  greater  distinction  than  to  be  on  the  walls  of  the 
White  House,  because  these  men  are  of  far  greater  emi 
nence. 

After  luncheon  the  president  invited  me  into  the 
Blue  Room,  and  with  a  great  deal  of  emotion  said:  "You 
are  the  only  man  who  has  ever  unselfishly  befriended  me. 
It  was  largely  through  your  efforts  that  I  became  presi 
dent,  and  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  my  renomi- 
nation.  I  have  tried  my  best  to  show  my  appreciation 
by  asking  you  into  my  Cabinet  and  otherwise,  but  you 
have  refused  everything  I  have  heretofore  offered.  I 
now  want  to  give  you  the  best  I  have,  which  is  secretary 
of  state.  It  is  broken  bread,  because  if  I  am  not  re- 
elected  it  will  be  only  till  the  4th  of  March,  but  if  I  am 
re-elected  it  will  be  for  four  years  more.  I  personally 
want  you  in  my  Cabinet." 


BENJAMIN   HARRISON  139 

I  told  the  president  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  accept; 
that  even  if  I  resigned  my  presidency  of  the  railroad, 
coming  directly  from  that  position  would  bring  the  rail 
road  question,  which  was  very  acute,  into  the  canvass. 
He  said  he  did  not  think  there  was  anything  in  that,  but 
I  realized  that  if  he  was  defeated  his  defeat  would  be 
charged  to  having  made  that  mistake. 

He  then  said:  "Well,  how  about  it  if  I  am  re-elected?" 
I  told  him  that  I  would  regard  the  appointment  the 
greatest  of  honors,  and  the  associations  the  most  plea 
surable  of  a  lifetime. 

"Very  well,"  he  said;  "I  will  appoint  Mr.  John  W. 
Foster,  who  has  been  doing  excellent  service  for  the 
State  Department,  until  next  4th  of  March,  and  you  can 
prepare  to  come  here  upon  that  date." 

The  most  painful  thing  that  was  connected  with  the 
canvass  at  Minneapolis  before  the  convention  was  the 
appearance  of  Mr.  Elaine  as  a  candidate.  He  had  re 
signed  from  the  Cabinet  and  yielded  to  the  pressure  of 
his  friends  to  become  a  candidate. 

Notwithstanding  my  interview  and  what  he  had  said, 
he  sent  no  word  whatever  to  me,  and  personally  I  had 
no  information  and  no  notification  that  his  candidacy 
was  authorized  by  himself.  What  gave,  however,  much 
authority  to  the  statement  that  he  would  accept  the 
nomination  was  the  appearance  of  his  son,  Emmons, 
among  those  who  were  endeavoring  to  bring  it  about. 

There  has  never  been  a  statesman  in  our  public  life, 
except  Henry  Clay,  who  had  such  devoted  friends  as 
Mr.  Elaine.  While  Henry  Clay  never  reached  the  presi 
dency  and  was  fairly  defeated  in  his  attempt,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Mr.  Elaine  was  elected  in  1884,  and  that 
notwithstanding  the  Burchard  misfortune,  he  would  still 


I4o  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

have  been  a  victor  except  for  transparent  frauds  in  New 
York. 

General  Harrison  was  by  far  the  ablest  and  profound- 
est  lawyer  among  our  presidents.  None  of  them  equalled 
him  as  an  orator.  His  State  papers  were  of  a  very  high 
order.  When  history  sums  up  the  men  who  have  held 
the  great  place  of  president  of  the  United  States,  General 
Harrison  will  be  among  the  foremost. 

He  retired  from  office,  like  many  of  our  presidents,  a 
comparatively  poor  man.  After  retirement  he  entered 
at  once  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  of  the  law 
and  almost  immediately  became  recognized  as  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  American  bar. 


XII 

JAMES  G.  ELAINE 

I  have  spoken  in  every  national  canvass,  beginning 
with  1856.  It  has  been  an  interesting  experience  to  be 
on  the  same  platform  as  an  associate  speaker  with  nearly 
every  man  in  the  country  who  had  a  national  reputation. 
Most  of  them  had  but  one  speech,  which  was  very  long, 
elaborately  prepared,  and  so  divided  into  sections,  each 
complete  in  itself,  that  the  orator  was  equipped  for  an 
address  of  any  length,  from  fifteen  minutes  to  four  hours, 
by  selection  or  consolidation  of  these  sections.  Few  of 
them  would  trust  themselves  to  extemporaneous  speak 
ing.  The  most  versatile  and  capable  of  those  who  could 
was  James  G.  Elaine.  He  was  always  ready,  courted 
interruptions,  and  was  brilliantly  effective.  In  a  few 
sentences  he  had  captured  his  audience  and  held  them 
enthralled.  No  public  man  in  our  country,  except,  per 
haps,  Henry  Clay,  had  such  devoted  following. 

Mr.  Elaine  had  another  extraordinary  gift,  which  is 
said  to  belong  only  to  kings;  he  never  forgot  any  one. 
Years  after  an  introduction  he  would  recall  where  he  had 
first  met  the  stranger  and  remember  his  name.  This 
compliment  made  that  man  Elaine's  devoted  friend  for 
life. 

I  had  an  interesting  experience  of  his  readiness  and 
versatility  when  he  ran  for  president  in  1884.  He  asked 
me  to  introduce  him  at  the  different  stations,  where  he 
was  to  deliver  long  or  short  addresses.  After  several  of 
these  occasions,  he  asked:  "What's  the  next  station, 

141 


i42  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Chauncey?"  I  answered:  "Peekskill."  "Well,"  he 
said,  "what  is  there  about  Peekskill?"  "I  was  born 
there/'  I  answered.  "Well,"  he  said,  rising,  "I  always 
thought  that  you  were  born  at  Poughkeepsie."  "No, 
Peekskill."  Just  then  we  were  running  into  the  sta 
tion,  and,  as  the  train  stopped,  I  stepped  forward  to  in 
troduce  him  to  the  great  crowd  which  had  gathered  there 
from  a  radius  of  fifty  miles.  He  pushed  me  back  in  a 
very  dramatic  way,  and  shouted:  "Fellow  citizens,  allow 
me  to  make  the  introduction  here.  As  I  have  many 
times  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  travelled  up  and 
down  your  beautiful  Hudson  River,  with  its  majestic 
scenery  made  famous  by  the  genius  of  Washington  Irv 
ing,  and  upon  the  floating  palaces  not  equalled  anywhere 
else  in  the  world,  or  when  the  steamer  has  passed  through 
this  picturesque  bay  and  opposite  your  village,  I  have 
had  emotions  of  tenderness  and  loving  memories,  greater 
than  those  impressed  by  any  other  town,  because  I  have 
said  to  myself:  'There  is  the  birthplace  of  one  of  my 
best  friends,  Chauncey  Depew.' ' 

Local  committees  who  desire  to  use  the  candidate  to 
help  the  party  in  their  neighborhood  and  also  their 
county  tickets  are  invariably  most  unreasonable  and 
merciless  in  their  demands  upon  the  time  of  the  candi 
date.  They  know  perfectly  well  that  he  has  to  speak 
many  times  a  day;  that  there  is  a  limit  to  his  strength 
and  to  his  vocal  cords,  and  yet  they  will  exact  from 
him  an  effort  which  would  prevent  his  filling  other  en 
gagements,  if  they  possibly  can.  This  was  notoriously 
the  case  during  Mr.  Elaine's  trip  through  the  State  of 
New  York  and  afterwards  through  the  country.  The 
strain  upon  him  was  unprecedented,  and,  very  naturally, 
he  at  times  showed  his  irritation  and  some  temper. 


JAMES  G.   ELAINE  143 

The  local  committees  would  do  their  best  with  the 
railroad  company  and  with  Elaine's  managers  in  New 
York  to  prolong  his  stay  and  speech  at  each  station.  He 
would  be  scheduled  according  to  the  importance  of  the 
place  for  five,  ten,  fifteen,  twenty,  or  thirty  minutes. 

Before  we  reached  Albany  he  asked  me  to  accompany 
him  to  the  end  of  our  line  at  Buffalo,  and  make  the  in 
troduction  as  usual  at  the  stations.  The  committee 
would  sometimes  succeed  in  changing  the  programme 
and  make  the  stays  longer  at  their  several  places.  Mr. 
Elaine's  arrangement  with  me  was  that  after  he  had 
decided  how  long  he  would  speak,  I  should  fill  up  the 
time,  whether  it  was  longer  or  shorter.  That  would 
often  enlarge  my  speech,  but  I  was  young  and  vigorous 
and  had  no  responsibilities. 

I  remember  one  committee,  where  the  train  was  sched 
uled  for  ten  minutes,  succeed  in  having  it  delayed  an 
hour,  and  instead  of  a  brief  address  from  the  platform 
of  the  car,  carried  the  presidential  party  to  a  stand  in 
the  central  square  where  many  thousands  had  gathered. 
In  the  first  place,  this  city  was  not  on  Mr.  Elaine's 
schedule,  and  as  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon,  after  a 
fatiguing  day,  he  therefore  told  the  committee  peremp 
torily  that  ten  minutes  was  his  limit.  Then  he  said  to 
me:  "Chauncey,  you  will  have  to  fill  out  the  hour." 

Mr.  Elaine's  wonderful  magnetism,  the  impression  he 
made  upon  every  one,  and  his  tactful  flattery  of  local 
pride,  did  a  great  deal  to  remove  the  prejudices  against 
him,  which  were  being  fomented  by  a  propaganda  of 
a  "mugwump"  committee  in  New  York.  This  propa 
ganda,  as  is  usually  the  case,  assailed  his  personal  in 
tegrity. 

Notwithstanding  the  predictions  made  at  the  time,  he 


144  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

was  nominated,  and  it  was  subsequently  repeated  that 
he  would  not  carry  New  York.  From  my  own  experi 
ence  of  many  years  with  the  people  of  the  State  and  from 
the  platform  view-point,  I  felt  confident  that  he  would 
have  a  majority  in  the  election. 

It  was  a  few  days  before  the  close  of  the  canvass, 
when  I  was  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  I  received 
an  urgent  telegram  from  Mr.  Elaine  to  join  him  on  the 
train,  which  was  to  leave  the  Grand  Central  Station  in 
New  York  early  next  morning  for  his  tour  of  New  Eng 
land.  Upon  arrival  I  was  met  by  a  messenger,  who 
took  me  at  once  to  Mr.  Elaine's  car,  which  started  a  few 
minutes  afterwards. 

There  was  an  unusual  excitement  in  the  crowd,  which 
was  speedily  explained.  The  best  account  Mr.  Elaine 
gave  me  himself  in  saying:  "I  felt  decidedly  that  every 
thing  was  well  in  New  York.  It  was  against  my  judg 
ment  to  return  here.  Our  national  committee,  how 
ever,  found  that  a  large  body  of  Protestant  clergymen 
wanted  to  meet  me  and  extend  their  support.  They 
thought  this  would  offset  the  charges  made  by  the  'mug 
wump'  committee.  I  did  not  believe  that  any  such 
recognition  was  necessary.  However,  their  demands  for 
my  return  and  to  meet  this  body  became  so  importunate 
that  I  yielded  my  own  judgment, 

"  I  was  engaged  in  my  room  with  the  committee  and 
other  visitors  when  I  was  summoned  to  the  lobby  of  the 
hotel  to  meet  the  clergymen.  I  had  prepared  no  speech; 
in  fact,  had  not  thought  up  a  reply.  When  their  spokes 
man,  Reverend  Doctor  Burchard,  began  to  address  me, 
my  only  hope  was  that  he  would  continue  long  enough 
for  me  to  prepare  an  appropriate  response.  I  had  a  very 
definite  idea  of  what  he  would  say  and  so  paid  little 


JAMES  G.   ELAINE  145 

attention  to  his  speech.  In  the  evening  the  reporters 
began  rushing  in  and  wanted  my  opinion  of  Doctor 
Burchard's  statement  that  the  main  issue  of  the  cam 
paign  was  'Rum,  Romanism,  and  Rebellion.'  If  I  had 
heard  him  utter  these  words,  I  would  have  answered  at 
once,  and  that  would  have  been  effective,  but  I  am  still 
in  doubt  as  to  what  to  say  about  it  now.  The  situation 
is  very  difficult,  and  almost  anything  I  say  is  likely  to 
bitterly  offend  one  side  or  the  other.  Now  I  want  you 
to  do  all  the  introductions  and  be  beside  me  to-day  as 
far  as  possible.  I  have  become  doubtful  about  every 
body  and  you  are  always  sure-footed."  I  have  treasured 
that  compliment  ever  since. 

As  we  rode  through  the  streets  of  New  Haven  the 
Democrats  had  placed  men  upon  the  tops  of  the  houses 
on  either  side,  and  they  threw  out  in  the  air  thousands  of 
leaflets,  charging  Elaine  with  having  assented  to  the 
issue  which  Doctor  Burchard  had  put  out — "Rum, 
Romanism,  and  Rebellion."  They  so  filled  the  air  that 
it  seemed  a  shower,  and  littered  the  streets. 

A  distinguished  Catholic  prelate  said  to  me:  "We  had 
to  resent  an  insult  like  that,  and  I  estimate  that  the 
remark  has  changed  fifty  thousand  votes."  I  know  per 
sonally  of  about  five  thousand  which  were  changed  in 
our  State,  but  still  Elaine  lost  New  York  and  the  presi 
dency  by  a  majority  against  him  of  only  one  thousand 
one  hundred  and  forty-nine  votes. 

Whenever  I  visited  Washington  I  always  called  upon 
Mr.  Elaine.  The  fascination  of  the  statesman  and  his 
wonderful  conversational  power  made  every  visit  an 
event  to  be  remembered.  On  one  occasion  he  said  to 
me:  "Chauncey,  I  am  in  very  low  spirits  to-day.  I 
have  read  over  the  first  volume  of  my  *  Twenty  Years  in 


146  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Congress/  which  is  just  going  to  the  printer,  and  de 
stroyed  it.  I  dictated  the  whole  of  it,  but  I  find  that 
accuracy  and  elegance  can  only  be  had  at  the  end  of  a 
pen.  I  shall  rewrite  the  memoirs  in  ink.  In  these  days 
composition  by  the  typewriter  or  through  the  stenogra 
pher  is  so  common."  There  will  be  many  who  differ 
with  Mr.  Elaine. 


XIII 

WILLIAM  McKINLEY 

In  the  canvass  of  1896  the  Republican  organization  of 
the  State  of  New  York  decided,  if  possible,  to  have  the 
national  convention  nominate  Levi  P.  Morton  for  presi 
dent.  Mr.  Morton  won  popular  favor  as  vice-president, 
and  the  canvass  for  him  looked  hopeful.  But  a  new  man 
of  extraordinary  force  and  ability  came  into  this  cam 
paign,  and  that  man  was  Mark  Hanna,  of  Ohio.  Mr. 
Hanna  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  our  business 
men.  He  had  a  rare  genius  for  organization,  and  pos 
sessed  resourcefulness,  courage,  and  audacity.  He  was 
most  practical  and  at  the  same  time  had  imagination  and 
vision.  While  he  had  taken  very  little  part  in  public 
affairs,  he  had  rather  suddenly  determined  to  make  his 
devoted  friend,  William  McKinley,  president  of  the 
United  States. 

In  a  little  while  every  State  in  tne  Union  felt  the  force 
of  Mr.  Hanna's  efforts.  He  applied  to  politics  the 
methods  by  which  he  had  so  successfully  advanced  his 
large  manufacturing  interests.  McKinley  clubs  and  Mc 
Kinley  local  organizations  sprang  up  everywhere  under 
the  magic  of  Hanna's  management.  When  the  conven 
tion  met  it  was  plain  that  McKinley' s  nomination  was 
assured. 

The  New  York  delegation,  however,  decided  to  pre 
sent  Morton's  name  and  submit  his  candidacy  to  a  vote. 
I  was  selected  to  make  a  nominating  speech.  If  there  is 
any  hope,  an  orator  on  such  an  occasion  has  inspiration. 

147 


148  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

But  if  he  knows  he  is  beaten  he  cannot  put  into  his  effort 
the  fire  necessary  to  impress  an  audience.  It  is  not  pos 
sible  to  speak  with  force  and  effect  unless  you  have  faith 
in  your  cause. 

After  Mr.  McKinley  was  nominated  I  moved  that  the 
nomination  be  made  unanimous.  The  convention  called 
for  speech  and  platform  so  insistently  that  their  call  had 
to  be  obeyed.  The  following  is  an  account  from  a  news 
paper  of  that  date  of  my  impromptu  speech.  The  story 
which  is  mentioned  in  the  speech  was  told  to  me  as  I 
was  ascending  the  platform  by  Senator  Proctor  of 
Vermont. 

"  I  am  in  the  happy  position  now  of  making  a  speech 
for  the  man  who  is  going  to  be  elected.  (Laughter  and 
applause.)  It  is  a  great  thing  for  an  amateur,  when  his 
first  nomination  has  failed,  to  come  in  and  second  the 
man  who  has  succeeded.  New  York  is  here  with  no 
bitter  feeling  and  with  no  disappointment.  We  recog 
nize  that  the  waves  have  submerged  us,  but  we  have 
bobbed  up  serenely.  (Loud  laughter.)  It  was  a  can 
non  from  New  York  that  sounded  first  the  news  of 
McKinley's  nomination.  They  said  of  Governor  Mor 
ton's  father  that  he  was  a  New  England  clergyman,  who 
brought  up  a  family  of  ten  children  on  three  hundred 
dollars  a  year,  and  was,  notwithstanding,  gifted  in 
prayer.  (Laughter.)  It  does  not  make  any  difference 
how  poor  he  may  be,  how  out  of  work,  how  ragged,  how 
next  door  to  a  tramp  anybody  may  be  in  the  United 
States  to-night,  he  will  be  *  gifted  in  prayer'  at  the  re 
sult  of  this  convention.  (Cheers  and  laughter.) 

"There  is  a  principle  dear  to  the  American  heart.  It 
is  the  principle  which  moves  American  spindles,  starts 
the  industries,  and  makes  the  wage-earners  sought  for, 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY  149 

instead  of  seeking  employment.  That  principle  is  em 
bodied  in  McKinley.  His  personality  explains  the  nomi 
nation  to-day.  And  his  personality  will  carry  into  the 
presidential  chair  the  aspirations  of  the  voters  of  Amer 
ica,  of  the  families  of  America,  of  the  homes  of  America, 
protection  to  American  industry  and  America  for  Ameri 
cans."  (Cheers.) 

As  every  national  convention,  like  every  individual, 
has  its  characteristics,  the  peculiar  distinction  of  the 
Republican  convention  of  1896  was  its  adoption  of  the 
gold  standard  of  value.  An  amazing  and  illuminating 
part  of  our  political  literature  of  that  time  is  the  claim 
which  various  statesmen  and  publicists  make  to  the 
authorship  of  the  gold  plank  in  the  platform. 

Senator  Foraker,  who  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  resolutions,  devotes  a  considerable  part  of  his  interest 
ing  autobiography  to  the  discussion  of  this  question.  He 
is  very  severe  upon  all  those  who  claim  to  have  origi 
nated  the  idea.  I  have  been  asked  by  several  statesmen 
to  enforce  their  claims  to  its  authorship. 

The  silver  craze  had  not  yet  subsided.  Bimetallism 
had  strong  advocates  and  believers  in  our  convention.  I 
think  even  our  candidate  was  not  fully  convinced  at  that 
time  of  the  wisdom  of  the  declaration.  It  went  into  the 
platform  rather  as  a  venture  than  an  article  of  faith,  but 
to  the  surprise  of  both  the  journalists  and  campaign 
orators,  it  turned  out  that  the  people  had  become  con 
verted  to  the  gold  standard,  and  it  proved  to  be  the 
strongest  and  most  popular  declaration  of  the  con 
vention. 

When  the  campaign  opened  the  genius  of  Mark  Hanna 
soon  became  evident.  He  organized  a  campaign  of  edu 
cation  such  as  had  nerer  been  dreamed  of,  much  less 


1 50  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

attempted.  Travelling  publicity  agents,  with  wagon- 
loads  of  pamphlets,  filled  the  highways  and  the  byways, 
and  no  home  was  so  isolated  that  it  did  not  receive  its 
share.  Columns  in  the  newspapers,  especially  the  coun 
try  papers,  were  filled  with  articles  written  by  experts, 
and  the  platform  was  never  so  rich  with  public  speakers. 

Such  a  campaign  is  irresistible.  Its  influence  is  felt  by 
everybody;  its  arguments  become  automatically  and  al 
most  insensibly  the  common  language  of  the  people. 
But  the  expense  is  so  terrific  that  it  will  never  again  be 
attempted.  There  was  no  corruption  or  purchase  of 
votes  in  Mr.  Hanna's  management.  It  was  publicity 
and  again  publicity,  but  it  cost  nearly  five  millions  of 
dollars.  To  reach  the  one  hundred  and  ten  million  of 
people  in  the  United  States  in  such  a  way  would  involve 
a  sum  so  vast  that  public  opinion  would  never  permit 
any  approach  to  it. 

Mr.  McKinley's  front-porch  campaign  was  a  pictur 
esque  and  captivating  feature.  The  candidate  was  a 
handsome  man  and  an  eloquent  speaker,  with  a  cordial 
and  sympathetic  manner  which  won  everybody.  Dele 
gations  from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  representing 
every  phase  of  American  life  appeared  at  Mr.  McKin- 
ley's  residence.  His  address  to  them  was  always  appro 
priate  and  his  reception  made  the  visitors  his  fast  friends. 

I  received  a  personal  request  to  visit  him,  and  on  the 
occasion  he  said  to  me:  "In  certain  large  agricultural 
sections  there  is  a  very  dangerous  revolt  in  our  party, 
owing  to  the  bad  conditions  among  the  farmers.  Wheat 
and  corn  are  selling  below  the  cost  of  production.  I 
wish  you  would  go  down  among  them  and  make  speeches 
explaining  the  economic  conditions  which  have  produced 
this  result,  and  how  we  propose  to  and  will  remedy  it." 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY  151 

"Mr.  McKinley,"  I  said,  "my  position  as  a  railroad 
president,  I  am  afraid,  would  antagonize  them." 

"On  the  contrary,  your  very  position  will  draw  the 
largest  audiences  and  receive  the  greater  attention." 

The  result  proved  that  he  was  correct. 

I  recall  one  meeting  in  particular.  There  were  thou 
sands  present,  all  farmers.  In  the  midst  of  my  speech 
one  man  arose  and  said:  "Chauncey  Depew,  we  appre 
ciate  your  coming  here,  and  we  are  very  anxious  to  hear 
you.  Your  speech  is  very  charming  and  interesting,  but 
I  want  to  put  this  to  you  personally.  We  here  are  suf 
fering  from  market  conditions  for  the  products  of  our 
farms.  The  prices  are  so  low  that  we  have  difficulty  in 
meeting  the  interest  on  our  mortgages  and  paying  our 
taxes,  no  matter  how  seriously  we  economize.  Now  you 
are  the  president  of  one  of  the  greatest  railroads  in  the 
country.  It  is  reported  that  you  are  receiving  a  salary 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  You  are  here  in  a 
private  car.  Don't  you  think  that  the  contrast  between 
you  and  us  makes  it  difficult  for  us  poor  farmers  to  give 
you  the  welcome  which  we  would  like?" 

I  saw  at  once  I  had  lost  my  audience.  I  then  ven 
tured  upon  a  statement  of  conditions  which  I  have  often 
tried  and  always  successfully.  I  said:  "My  friend,  what 
you  say  about  me  is  true.  Now,  as  to  my  career,  I  was 
born  and  brought  up -in  a  village  similar  to  the  one  which 
is  near  you  here.  My  father  gave  me  my  education  and 
nothing  else  with  which  to  begin  life.  As  a  young  law 
yer  I  was  looking  for  clients  and  not  for  office.  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  there  were  no  opportunities  offered  in 
the  village,  but  that  the  chances  of  success  were  in  the 
service  of  corporations.  The  result  is  that  I  have 
accomplished  what  you  have  described.  Now,  my 


i52  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

friend,  I  believe  that  you  have  a  promising  boy.  I  also 
believe  that  to  your  pride  and  satisfaction  he  is  going 
through  the  neighboring  college  here,  and  that  you 
intend  on  account  of  his  brightness  and  ability  to  make 
him  a  lawyer.  When  he  is  admitted  to  the  bar,  do  you 
expect  him  to  try  to  do  what  I  have  accomplished  and 
make  an  independent  position  in  life,  or  fail?" 

The  farmer  shouted:  "Chauncey,  you  are  all  right. 
Go  ahead  and  keep  it  up." 

My  arguments  and  presentation  were  no  better  than 
many  another  speaker's,  but,  as  Mr.  McKinley  predicted, 
they  received  an  attention  and  aroused  a  discussion,  be 
cause  of  what  the  old  farmer  had  said,  that  no  other 
campaigner  could  command. 

Mr.  McKinley  sent  for  me  again  and  said:  "Sentiment 
is  a  wonderful  force  in  politics.  Mr.  Bryan,  my  oppo 
nent,  has  made  a  remarkable  speaking  tour  through  our 
State.  He  started  in  the  early  morning  from  Cleveland 
with  a  speech.  His  train  made  many  stops  on  the  way 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  arrived  in  the  evening,  and  at 
each  place  he  addressed  large  audiences,  traversing  the 
State  from  one  side  to  the  other.  His  endurance  and 
versatility  have  made  a  great  impression  upon  our  peo 
ple.  To  meet  and  overcome  that  impression,  I  have 
asked  you  to  come  here  and  repeat  Bryan's  effort.  You 
are  so  much  older  than  he  is — I  think  we  may  claim 
nearly  twice  his  age — that  if  you  can  do  it,  and  I  hope 
you  can,  that  sentiment  will  be  dissipated." 

I  traversed  Mr.  Bryan's  route,  stopped  at  the  same 
stations  and  delivered  speeches  to  similar  audiences  of 
about  the  same  length.  On  arriving  in  Cincinnati  in  the 
evening  I  was  met  by  a  committee,  the  chairman  of 
which  said:  "We  have  followed  you  all  along  from  Cleve- 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY  153 

land,  where  you  started  at  seven  o'clock  this  morning, 
and  it  is  fine.  Now  Mr.  Bryan,  when  he  arrived  here, 
had  no  meeting.  We  have  seven  thousand  people  in  the 
Music  Hall,  and  if  you  will  go  there  and  speak  five  min 
utes  it  will  make  your  trip  a  phenomenal  success." 

I  went  to  the  Music  Hall,  of  course  had  a  wonderful 
time  and  wild  ovation,  and  spoke  for  an  hour.  The 
next  day  I  was  none  the  worse  for  this  twelve  hours' 
experience. 

President  McKinley  had  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  loved  the  associations 
and  life  of  Congress.  The  most  erratic  and  uncertain 
of  bodies  is  Congress  to  an  executive  who  does  not 
understand  its  temper  and  characteristics.  McKinley 
was  past  master  of  this.  Almost  every  president  has 
been  greatly  relieved  when  Congress  adjourned,  but  Mr. 
McKinley  often  expressed  to  me  his  wish  that  Congress 
would  always  be  in  session,  as  he  never  was  so  happy 
as  when  he  could  be  in  daily  contact  with  it.  His  door 
was  open  at  all  times  to  a  senator  or  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  If  either  failed  to  see  him 
at  least  once  a  week,  the  absentee  usually  received  a 
message  stating  that  the  president  desired  him  to  call. 
He  was  very  keen  in  discovering  any  irritation  on  the 
part  of  any  senator  or  member  about  any  disappoint 
ment  or  fancied  slight,  and  always  most  tactfully  man 
aged  to  straighten  the  matter  out.  He  was  quite  as 
attentive  and  as  particular  with  the  opposition  as  with 
members  of  his  own  party. 

President  McKinley  had  a  wonderful  way  of  dealing 
with  office-seekers  and  with  their  friends  and  supporters. 
A  phrase  of  his  became  part  of  the  common  language  of 
the  capital.  It  was:  "My  dear  fellow,  I  am  most  anxious 


154  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

to  oblige  you,  but  I  am  so  situated  that  I  cannot  give 
you  what  you  want.  I  will,  however,  try  to  find  you 
something  equally  as  good."  The  anxious  caller  for 
favors,  if  he  or  his  congressman  failed  to  get  the  office 
desired,  always  carried  away  a  flower  or  a  bouquet  given 
by  the  president,  with  a  complimentary  remark  to  be 
remembered.  It  soon  came  to  be  understood  among 
applicants  for  office  that  a  desired  consulship  in  England 
could  not  be  granted,  but  one  of  equal  rank  in  South 
Africa  was  possible. 

There  were  many  good  stories  in  the  Senate  of  his  tact 
in  dealing  with  the  opposition.  A  Southern  senator,  who 
as  a  general  had  made  a  distinguished  record  in  the  Civil 
War  on  the  Confederate  side,  was  very  resentful  and 
would  frequently  remark  to  his  friends  "that  our  presi 
dent  unfortunately  is  not  a  gentleman,  and  in  his  ances 
try  is  some  very  common  blood." 

Mr.  McKinley  persuaded  some  of  the  senator's  South 
ern  colleagues  to  bring  him  to  the  White  House.  He  ex 
pressed  his  regret  to  the  senator  that  he  should  have 
offended  him  in  any  way  and  asked  what  he  had  done. 
The  senator  replied:  "You  have  appointed  for  the  town 
where  my  sister  lives  a  nigger,  and  a  bad  nigger  at  that, 
for  postmaster,  and  my  sister  has  to  go  to  him  for  her 
letters  and  stamps."  The  president  arranged  for  the 
transfer  of  this  postmaster  and  the  appointment  of  a 
man  recommended  by  the  senator.  The  senator  then 
went  to  his  friends  and  said:  "Have  I  remarked  to  you 
at  any  time  that  our  president  was  not  a  gentleman  and 
had  somewhere  in  his  ancestry  very  common  blood?  If 
I  did  I  recall  the  statement  and  apologize.  Mr.  McKin 
ley  is  a  perfect  gentleman." 

All  the  measures  which  the  president  wished  passed, 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY  155 

unless  they  were  absolutely  partisan,  always  received 
afterwards  the  support  of  the  Southern  senator. 

I  was  in  the  Senate  during  a  part  of  his  term  and 
nearly  every  day  at  the  White  House,  where  his  recep 
tion  was  so  cordial  and  his  treatment  of  the  matter  pre 
sented  so  sympathetic  that  it  was  a  delight  to  go  there, 
instead  of  being,  as  usual,  one  of  the  most  disagreeable 
tasks  imposed  upon  a  senator. 

He  had  a  way  of  inviting  one  to  a  private  conference 
and  with  impressing  you  with  its  confidential  character 
and  the  trust  he  reposed  in  your  advice  and  judgment 
which  was  most  flattering. 

Entertainments  at  the  White  House  were  frequent, 
and  he  managed  to  make  each  dinner  an  event  to  be 
most  pleasantly  remembered.  I  think,  while  he  was 
very  courteous  to  everybody,  he  was  more  than  usually 
so  to  me  because  of  an  incident  prior  to  his  inauguration. 

A  well-known  journalist  came  to  my  office  one  day 
and  said:  "I  am  just  from  Canton,  where  I  have  been 
several  days  with  the  president.  I  discussed  with  him 
federal  appointments — among  others,  the  mission  to 
England,  in  which  I  am  interested  because  my  father  is 
an  Englishman,  and  both  my  father  and  I  are  exceed 
ingly  anxious  to  have  you  take  the  post,  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  authorized  me  to  ask  you  if  you  would  accept  the 


mission.'3 


The  embassy  to  England  presented  peculiar  attrac 
tion  to  me,  because  I  knew  personally  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  most  of  the  leading  English  statesmen  and 
public  men.  The  journalist  said  that  if  I  accepted  he 
would  sound  the  press.  This  he  did,  and  the  response 
was  most  flattering  from  journals  of  all  political  views. 

About  the  time  of  the  inauguration  Vice-President 


156  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Hobart,  who  was  a  cordial  friend  of  mine,  said  to  me: 
"There  is  something  wrong  about  you  with  the  president. 
It  is  very  serious,  and  you  can  expect  no  recognition  from 
the  administration."  I  was  wholly  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  the  matter  and  would  not  investigate  any  further. 
Not  long  afterwards  the  vice-president  came  to  me  and 
said:  "I  have  found  out  the  truth  of  that  matter  of 
yours  and  have  explained  it  satisfactorily  to  the  presi 
dent,  who  deeply  regrets  that  he  was  misled  by  a  false 
report  from  a  friend  in  whom  he  had  confidence."  Soon 
after  the  president  made  me  the  offer  of  the  mission  to 
Germany.  I  did  not  understand  the  language  and  felt 
that  I  could  be  of  little"  service  there,  and  so  declined. 

When  President  McKinley  was  lying  seriously  wounded 
at  Buffalo  from  the  shot  of  the  anarchist  Czolgosz,  I 
went  there  to  see  if  anything  could  be  done  for  his  com 
fort.  For  some  time  there  was  hope  he  would  recover, 
and  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  go  to  Washington. 
I  made  every  arrangement  to  take  him  to  the  capital  if 
the  doctors  decided  it  could  be  done.  But  suddenly,  as 
is  always  the  case  with  wounds  of  that  kind,  a  crisis 
arrived  in  which  he  died. 

Vice-President  Roosevelt  was  camping  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.  A  message  reached  him,  and  the  next  morning 
he  arrived  in  Buffalo.  The  Cabinet  of  Mr.  McKinley 
decided  that  the  vice-president  should  be  at  once  in 
augurated  as  president.  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  a  guest 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Ainsley  Wilcox.  He  invited  me  to 
witness  his  inauguration,  which  occurred  the  same  eve 
ning.  It  was  a  small  company  gathered  in  the  parlor  of 
Mr.  Wilcox's  house.  Elihu  Root,  secretary  of  state, 
choking  with  emotion  and  in  a  voice  full  of  tears,  made 
a  speech  which  was  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  dead 


WILLIAM  McKINLEY  157 

president  and  a  clear  statement  of  the  necessity  of  imme 
diate  action  to  avoid  an  interregnum  in  the  government. 
John  Raymond  Hazel,  United  States  district  judge,  ad 
ministered  the  oath,  and  the  new  president  delivered  a 
brief  and  affecting  answer  to  Mr.  Root's  address. 

This  inauguration  was  in  pathetic  and  simple  contrast 
to  that  which  had  preceded  at  the  Capitol  at  Washing 
ton.  Among  the  few  present  was  Senator  Mark  Hanna. 
He  had  been  more  instrumental  than  any  one  in  the 
United  States  in  the  selection  of  Mr.  McKinley  for 
president  and  his  triumphant  election.  Mr.  McKinley 
put  absolute  trust  in  Hanna,  and  Hanna  was  the  most 
powerful  personality  in  the  country.  No  two  men  in 
public  life  were  ever  so  admirably  fitted  for  each  other 
as  President  McKinley  and  Senator  Hanna.  The  day 
before  the  death  of  the  president  Hanna  could  look  for 
ward  to  four  years  of  increasing  power  and  usefulness 
with  the  president  who  had  just  been  re-elected.  But 
as  he  walked  with  me  from  Mr.  Wilcox's  house  that 
night,  he  felt  keenly  that  he  never  could  have  any  such 
relation  with  Colonel  Roosevelt.  He  was  personally 
exceedingly  fond  of  Mr.  McKinley,  and  to  his  grief  at 
the  death  of  his  friend  was  added  a  full  apprehension  of 
his  changed  position  in  American  public  life. 


XIV 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

The  bullet  of  the  assassin  had  ended  fatally,  and 
McKinley  was  no  more.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  vice- 
president,  became  president.  Few  recognized  at  the 
time  there  had  come  into  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  one  of  the  most  remarkable,  capable,  and  original 
men  who  ever  occupied  the  White  House. 

During  the  following  seven  years  President  Roosevelt 
not  only  occupied  but  filled  the  stage  of  public  affairs  in 
the  United  States.  Even  now,  two  years  or  more  after 
his  death,  with  the  exception  of  President  Wilson,  Roose 
velt  is  the  best  known  American  in  the  world.  It  is  diffi 
cult  to  predict  the  future  because  of  the  idealization 
which  sometimes  though  rarely  occurs  in  regard  to  public 
men,  but  Colonel  Roosevelt  is  rapidly  taking  a  position 
as  third,  with  Washington  and  Lincoln  as  the  other  two. 

My  relations  with  Colonel  Roosevelt  were  always 
most  interesting.  His  father,  who  was  a  cordial  friend 
of  mine,  was  one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  New  York. 
In  all  civic  duties  and  many  philanthropies  he  occupied 
a  first  place.  The  public  activities  of  the  father  had 
great  influence  in  forming  the  character  and  directing  the 
ambitions  of  his  son. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  entered  public  life  very  early  and,  as 
with  everything  with  him,  always  in  a  dramatic  way. 
One  of  the  interesting  characters  of  New  York  City  was 
Frederick  Gibbs,  who  was  an  active  politician  and  a  dis 
trict  leader.  Gibbs  afterwards  became  the  national 

158 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT  159 

committeeman  from  New  York  on  the  Republican  na 
tional  committee.  When  he  died  he  left  a  collection 
of  pictures  which,  to  the  astonishment  of  everybody, 
showed  that  he  was  a  liberal  and  discriminating  patron 
of  art. 

Gibbs  had  a  district  difficult  to  manage,  because,  com 
mencing  in  the  slums  it  ran  up  to  Fifth  Avenue.  It  was 
normally  Democratic,  but  he  managed  to  keep  his  party 
alive  and  often  to  win,  and  so  gained  the  reputation  that 
he  was  in  league  with  Tammany.  He  came  to  me  one 
day  and  said:  "Our  organization  has  lost  the  confidence 
of  the  *  highbrows.'  They  have  not  a  great  many  votes, 
but  their  names  carry  weight  and  their  contributions  are 
invaluable  in  campaigns.  To  regain  their  confidence  we 
are  thinking  of  nominating  for  member  of  the  legislature 
young  Theodore  Roosevelt,  who  has  just  returned  from 
Harvard.  What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

Of  course,  I  advocated  it  very  warmly.  "Well,"  he 
said,  "we  will  have  a  dinner  at  Delmonico's.  It  will  be 
composed  entirely  of  'highbrows.'  We  wish  you  to 
make  the  principal  speech,  introducing  young  Roosevelt, 
who,  of  course,  will  respond.  I  will  not  be  at  the  din 
ner,  but  I  will  be  in  the  pantry." 

The  dinner  was  a  phenomenal  success.  About  three 
hundred  in  dress  suits,  white  vests,  and  white  neckties 
were  discussing  the  situation,  saying:  "Where  did  these 
stories  and  slanders  originate  in  regard  to  our  district, 
about  its  being  an  annex  of  Tammany  and  with  Tam 
many  affiliations?  We  are  the  district,  and  we  all  know 
each  other." 

Young  Roosevelt,  when  he  rose  to  speak,  looked  about 
eighteen  years  old,  though  he  was  twenty-three.  His 
speech  was  carefully  prepared,  and  he  read  it  from  a 


160  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

manuscript.  It  was  remarkable  in  the  emphatic  way  in 
which  he  first  stated  the  evils  in  the  city,  State,  and 
national  governments,  and  how  he  would  correct  them  if 
he  ever  had  the  opportunity.  It  is  a  curious  realization 
of  youthful  aspirations  that  every  one  of  those  oppor 
tunities  came  to  him,  and  in  each  of  them  he  made 
history  and  permanent  fame. 

The  term  of  office  of  Frank  Black,  Governor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  was  about  expiring.  Black  was  a 
man  of  great  ability  and  courage.  The  people  had  voted 
nine  millions  of  dollars  to  improve  the  Erie  Canal. 
There  were  persistent  rumors  of  fraud  in  the  work. 
Governor  Black  ordered  an  investigation  through  an 
able  committee  which  he  appointed.  The  committee 
discovered  that  about  a  million  dollars  had  been  wasted 
or  stolen.  Black  at  once  took  measures  to  recover  the 
money  if  possible  and  to  prosecute  the  guilty.  The 
opposition  took  advantage  of  this  to  create  the  impres 
sion  in  the  public  mind  of  the  corruption  of  the  Republi 
can  administration.  The  acute  question  was:  " Should 
Governor  Black  be  renominated  ?  " 

Colonel  Roosevelt  had  just  returned  from  Cuba,  where 
he  had  won  great  reputation  in  command  of  the  Rough 
Riders,  and  he  and  his  command  were  in  camp  on  Long 
Island. 

Senator  Platt,  the  State  leader,  was  accustomed  to 
consult  me,  and  his  confidence  in  my  judgment  was  the 
greater  from  the  fact  that  he  knew  that  I  wanted  noth 
ing,  while  most  of  the  people  who  surrounded  the  leader 
were  recipients  of  his  favor,  and  either  the  holders  of 
offices  or  expecting  some  consideration.  He  asked  me 
to  come  and  see  him  at  Manhattan  Beach.  As  usual,  he 
entered  at  once  upon  the  question  in  hand  by  saying: 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  161 

"I  am  very  much  troubled  about  the  governorship. 
Frank  Black  has  made  an  excellent  governor  and  did 
the  right  thing  in  ordering  an  investigation  of  the  Canal 
frauds,  but  the  result  of  the  investigation  has  been  that 
in  discovering  frauds  the  Democrats  have  been  able  to 
create  a  popular  impression  that  the  whole  State  admin 
istration  is  guilty.  The  political  situation  is  very  criti 
cal  in  any  way.  Benjamin  Odell,  the  chairman  of  our 
State  committee,  urges  the  nomination  of  Colonel  Roose 
velt.  As  you  know,  Roosevelt  is  no  friend  of  mine,  and 
I  don't  think  very  well  of  the  suggestion.  Now,  what 
do  you  think?'* 

I  instantly  replied:  "Mr.  Platt,  I  always  look  at  a 
public  question  from  the  view  of  the  platform.  I  have 
been  addressing  audiences  ever  since  I  became  a  voter, 
and  my  judgment  of  public  opinion  and  the  views  of  the 
people  are  governed  by  how  they  take  or  will  take  and 
act  upon  the  questions  presented.  Now,  if  you  nomi 
nate  Governor  Black  and  I  am  addressing  a  large  audi 
ence — and  I  certainly  will — the  heckler  in  the  audience 
will  arise  and  interrupt  me,  saying:  'Chauncey,  we  agree 
with  what  you  say  about  the  Grand  Old  Party  and  all 
that,  but  how  about  the  Canal  steal?'  I  have  to  explain 
that  the  amount  stolen  was  only  a  million,  and  that 
would  be  fatal.  If  Colonel  Roosevelt  is  nominated,  I 
can  say  to  the  heckler  with  indignation  and  enthusiasm: 
'I  am  mighty  glad  you  asked  that  question.  We  have 
nominated  for  governor  a  man  who  has  demonstrated  in 
public  office  and  on  the  battlefield  that  he  is  a  fighter  for 
the  right,  and  always  victorious.  If  he  is  selected,  you 
know  and  we  all  know  from  his  demonstrated  character 
istics,  courage  and  ability,  that  every  thief  will  be  caught 
and  punished,  and  every  dollar  that  can  be  found  restored 


162  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

to  the  public  treasury/  Then  I  will  follow  the  colonel 
leading  his  Rough  Riders  up  San  Juan  Hill  and  ask  the 
band  to  play  the  *  Star-Spangled  Banner.'  * 

Platt  said  very  impulsively:  "Roosevelt  will  be  nomi 
nated." 

When  the  State  convention  met  to  nominate  a  State 
ticket,  I  was  selected  to  present  the  name  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt  as  a  candidate  for  governor.  I  have  done 
that  a  great  many  times  in  conventions,  but  have  never 
had  such  a  response.  As  I  went  on  reciting  the  achieve 
ments  of  Roosevelt,  his  career,  his  accomplishments,  and 
his  great  promise,  the  convention  went  wild  with  enthu 
siasm.  It  was  plain  that  no  mistake  had  been  made  in 
selecting  him  as  the  candidate. 

During  the  campaign  he  made  one  of  the  most  pictur 
esque  canvasses  the  State  has  ever  experienced.  He  was 
accompanied  in  his  travels  by  a  large  staff  of  orators,  but 
easily  dominated  the  situation  and  carried  the  audience 
with  him.  He  was  greatly  amused  at  a  meeting  where 
one  of  his  Rough  Riders,  who  was  in  the  company,  in 
sisted  upon  making  a  speech.  The  Rough  Rider  said: 
"My  friends  and  fellow  citizens,  my  colonel  was  a  great 
soldier.  He  will  make  a  great  governor.  He  always 
put  us  boys  in  battle  where  we  would  be  killed  if 
there  was  a  chance,  and  that  is  what  he  will  do  with 
you." 

Roosevelt  as  governor  was,  as  always,  most  original. 
New  York  was  an  organization  State,  with  Mr.  Platt  as 
leader,  and  with  county  leaders  of  unusual  ability  and 
strength.  Governors  had  been  accustomed  to  rely  upon 
the  organization  both  for  advice  and  support.  Roose 
velt  could  not  bear  any  kind  of  control.  He  sought  ad 
vice  in  every  direction  and  then  made  up  his  mind. 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  163 

This  brought  him  often  in  conflict  with  local  leaders 
and  sometimes  with  the  general  organization. 

On  one  occasion  the  State  chairman,  who  was  always 
accustomed  to  be  in  Albany  during  the  closing  day  of 
the  legislature,  to  prevent  in  the  haste  and  confusion, 
characteristic  of  legislation  at  this  time,  the  passage  of 
bad  or  unpopular  measures,  bade  the  governor  good-by 
at  midnight,  as  the  legislature  was  to  adjourn  the  follow 
ing  day  with  the  understanding  that  lawmaking  was 
practically  over. 

A  large  real-estate  delegation  arrived  the  next  morn 
ing,  with  the  usual  desire  to  relieve  real-estate  from  tax 
ation  by  putting  it  somewhere  else.  They  came  with  a 
proposition  to  place  new  burdens  upon  public  utilities. 
It  was  too  late  to  formulate  and  introduce  a  measure  on 
a  question  so  important,  but  there  was  a  bill  which  had 
been  in  the  legislature  most  of  the  session  and  never 
received  serious  consideration.  The  governor  sent  an 
emergency  message  to  the  legislature,  which  had  remain 
ing  only  one  hour  of  life  to  pass  that  bill. 

Next  day  the  tremendous  interest  in  public  utilities 
was  panic-stricken  because  the  bill  was  so  crude  that  it 
amounted  to  confiscation.  The  governor,  when  applied 
to,  said:  "Yes,  I  know  that  the  bill  is  very  crude  and  un 
fit  to  become  a  law,  but  legislation  on  this  subject  is  ab 
solutely  necessary.  I  will  do  this:  I  have  thirty  days 
before  I  must  make  up  my  mind  to  sign  the  bill,  or  let  it 
become  a  law  without  my  signature.  Within  that  thirty 
days  I  will  call  the  legislature  together  again.  Then 
you  can  prepare  and  submit  to  me  a  proper  bill,  and  if 
we  can  agree  upon  it,  I  will  present  it  to  the  legislature. 
If  the  legislature  passes  that  measure  I  will  sign  it,  but  if 
it  does  not,  I  will  let  the  present  measure,  bad  as  it  is, 
become  a  law." 


164  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  result  of  the  threat  was  that  a  very  good  and 
timely  act  was  presented  in  regard  to  the  taxation  of 
public  utilities,  a  measure  which  largely  increased  mu 
nicipal  and  State  revenues.  I  know  of  no  governor  in 
my  time  who  would  have  had  the  originality  and  the 
audacity  to  accomplish  what  he  desired  by  such  drastic 
operation. 

Roosevelt's  administration  was  high-minded  and  pa 
triotic.  But  by  his  exercise  of  independent  judgment 
and  frequently  by  doing  things  without  consulting  the 
leaders,  State  or  local,  he  became  exceedingly  unpopular 
with  the  organization.  It  was  evident  that  it  would  be 
very  difficult  to  renominate  him.  It  was  also  evident 
that  on  account  of  his  popularity  with  the  people,  if  he 
failed  in  the  renomination,  the  party  would  be  beaten. 
So  it  was  unanimously  decided  to  put  him  on  the  national 
ticket  as  vice-president. 

The  governor  resisted  this  with  all  his  passionate 
energy.  He  liked  the  governorship.  He  thought  there 
were  many  things  which  he  could  do  in  another  term, 
and  he  believed  and  so  stated  that  the  vice-presidency 
was  a  tomb.  He  thought  that  nobody  could  be  resur 
rected  when  once  buried  in  that  sarcophagus. 

The  national  Republican  convention  of  1900  was  a 
ratification  meeting.  President  McKinley's  administra 
tion  had  been  exceedingly  popular.  The  convention  met 
practically  to  indorse  McKinley's  public  acts  and  re- 
nominate  him  for  another  term.  The  only  doubtful 
question  was  the  vice-presidency.  There  was  a  general 
accord  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  Governor  Roosevelt, 
which  was  only  blocked  by  his  persistent  refusal. 

Roosevelt  and  I  were  both  delegates  at  large,  and  that 
position  gave  him  greater  opportunity  to  emphasize  his 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  165 

disinclination.  A  very  intimate  friend  of  his  called  upon 
me  and  begged  that  I  would  use  all  my  influence  to  pre 
vent  the  colonel's  nomination.  This  friend  said  to  me: 
"The  governor's  situation,  officially  and  personally, 
makes  it  impossible  for  him  to  go  to  Washington.  On 
the  official  side  are  his  unfinished  legislation  and  the  new 
legislation  greatly  needed  by  the  State,  which  will  add 
enormously  to  his  reputation  and  pave  the  way  for  his 
future.  He  has  very  little  means.  As  governor  his  sal 
ary  is  ample.  The  Executive  Mansion  is  free,  with 
many  contributory  advantages,  and  the  schools  of 
Albany  admirable  for  the  education  of  his  six  children. 
While  in  Washington  the  salary  of  vice-president  is 
wholly  inadequate  to  support  the  dignity  of  the  posi 
tion,  and  it  is  the  end  of  a  young  man  of  a  most  prom 
ising  career." 

I  knew  what  the  friend  did  not  know,  and  it  was  that 
Mr.  Roosevelt  could  not  be  governor  again.  I  was  so 
warmly  attached  to  him  and  so  anxious  for  his  future 
that  I  felt  it  was  my  duty  to  force  his  nomination  if 
possible. 

Governor  Odell  was  chairman  of  the  delegation  for 
all  convention  purposes,  but  in  the  distribution  of  honors 
I  was  made  the  presiding  officer  at  its  meetings.  The 
delegation  met  to  consider  the  vice-presidency.  Several 
very  eloquent  speeches  were  made  in  favor  of  Mr.  Roose 
velt,  but  in  an  emphatic  address  he  declined  the  nomi 
nation.  He  then  received  a  unanimous  vote,  but  again 
declined.  A  delegate  then  arose  and  suggested  that  he 
reconsider  his  determination,  and  several  others  joined 
most  earnestly  in  this  request.  Roosevelt  was  deeply 
affected,  but,  nevertheless,  firmly  declined. 

I  knew  there  was  a  member  of  the  delegation  who  had 


166  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

canvassed  it  to  secure  the  honor  in  case  Roosevelt  be 
came  impossible,  and  that  the  next  motion  would  be 
the  nomination  of  this  aspirant.  So  I  abruptly  declared 
the  meeting  adjourned.  I  did  this  in  the  hope  that  dur 
ing  the  night,  with  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
him,  the  colonel  would  change  his  mind.  In  the  morn 
ing  Mr.  Roosevelt  surrendered  his  convictions  and 
agreed  to  accept  the  nomination. 

In  every  convention  there  is  a  large  number  of  men 
prominent  in  their  several  delegations  who  wish  to  secure 
general  attention  and  publicity.  As  there  were  no  dis 
putes  as  to  either  candidate  or  platform,  these  gentlemen 
all  became  anxious  to  make  speeches  favoring  the  can 
didates,  McKinley  and  Roosevelt.  There  were  so  many 
of  these  speeches  which,  of  course,  were  largely  repeti 
tions,  that  the  convention  became  wearied  and  impa 
tient.  The  last  few  were  not  heard  at  all  on  account 
of  the  confusion  and  impatience  of  the  delegates.  While 
one  orator  was  droning  away,  a  delegation  from  a  West 
ern  State  came  over  to  me  and  said:  "We  in  the  extreme 
West  have  never  heard  you  speak,  and  won't  you  oblige 
us  by  taking  the  platform?" 

I  answered:  "The  audience  will  not  stand  another 
address."  Roosevelt,  who  sat  right  in  front  of  me,  then 
remarked:  "Yes,  they  will  from  you.  These  speeches 
have  pretty  nearly  killed  the  ticket,  and  if  it  keeps  up 
the  election  is  over,  and  McKinley  and  I  are  dead."  He 
then  seized  me  and  almost  threw  me  on  the  platform. 

The  novelty  of  the  situation,  which  was  suddenly 
grasped  by  the  delegates,  commanded  attention.  I 
recalled  what  Mr.  Lincoln  had  once  said  to  me,  defend 
ing  his  frequent  use  of  anecdotes,  and  this  is  what  he 
said:  "Plain  people,  take  them  as  you  find  them,  are 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  167 

more  easily  influenced  through  the  medium  of  a  broad 
and  humorous  illustration  than  in  any  other  way." 

I  had  heard  a  new  story,  a  rare  thing,  and  began  with 
the  narration  of  it.  Alongside  the  chairman  sat  Senator 
Thurston.  He  was  a  fine  speaker,  very  ornate  and 
highly  rhetorical.  He  never  indulged  in  humor  or  un 
bent  his  dignity  and  formality.  I  heard  him  say  in  a 
sepulchral  voice  to  the  chairman:  "Great  God,  sir,  the 
dignity  and  solemnity  of  this  most  important  and  his 
torical  occasion  is  to  be  ruined  by  a  story."  Happily  the 
story  was  a  success  and  gave  the  wearied  audience  two 
opportunities  to  hear  my  speech.  Their  laughter  was 
internal  relief,  and  it  was  giving  the  external  relief  of 
changing  their  positions  for  new  and  more  restful  ones. 

My  friend,  John  M.  Thurston,  came  to  Philadelphia 
with  a  most  elaborate  and  excellent  oration.  Sitting  in 
the  audience  on  three  different  occasions,  I  heard  it  with 
as  much  pleasure  the  last  time  as  I  had  the  first. 

When  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  vice-president  came  to  pre 
side  over  the  Senate,  it  was  soon  evident  that  he  would 
not  be  a  success.  His  talents  were  executive  and  ad 
ministrative.  The  position  of  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
United  States  Senate  is  at  once  easy  and  difficult.  The 
Senate  desires  impartiality,  equable  temper,  and  knowl 
edge  of  parliamentary  law  from  its  presiding  officer. 
But  it  will  not  submit  to  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
presiding  officer  to  direct  or  advise  it,  and  will  instantly 
resent  any  arbitrary  ruling.  Of  course,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
presided  only  at  a  few  meetings  before  the  final  adjourn 
ment.  When  Congress  met  again  he  was  President  of 
the  United  States. 

Senators  and  members  soon  found  that  there  was  a 
change  at  the  White  House.  No  two  men  were  ever  so 


168  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

radically  different  in  every  respect  as  McKinley  and 
Roosevelt.  Roosevelt  loved  to  see  the  people  in  a  mass 
and  rarely  cared  for  private  or  confidential  interviews. 
He  was  most  hospitable  and  constantly  bringing  visitors 
to  luncheon  when  the  morning  meetings  in  the  executive 
offices  had  closed,  and  he  had  not  had  a  full  opportunity 
to  hear  or  see  them. 

Senator  Hanna  was  accustomed  to  have  a  few  of  his 
colleagues  of  the  Senate  dine  with  him  frequently,  in 
order  to  consult  on  more  effective  action  upon  pending 
measures.  President  Roosevelt,  who  knew  everything 
that  was  going  on,  often  burst  into  Hanna's  house  after 
dinner  and  with  the  utmost  frankness  submitted  the 
problems  which  had  arisen  at  the  White  House,  and 
upon  which  he  wished  advice  or,  if  not  advice,  support — 
more  frequently  support. 

Any  one  who  attended  the  morning  conferences, 
where  he  saw  senators  and  members  of  the  House,  and 
the  public,  was  quite  sure  to  be  entertained.  I  remem 
ber  on  one  occasion  I  had  been  requested  by  several 
friends  of  his,  men  of  influence  and  prominence  in  New 
York,  to  ask  for  the  appointment  of  minister  to  a  foreign 
government  for  a  journalist  of  some  eminence.  When  I 
entered  the  Cabinet  room  it  was  crowded,  and  the  presi 
dent  knew  that  I  was  far  from  well,  so  he  at  once  called 
my  name,  asked  how  I  was  and  what  I  wanted.  I  told 
him  that  I  had  to  leave  Washington  that  day  on  the 
advice  of  my  doctor  for  a  rest,  and  what  I  wanted  was 
to  present  the  name  of  a  gentleman  for  appointment  as 
a  minister,  if  I  could  see  him  for  five  minutes. 

The  president  exclaimed:  "We  have  no  secrets  here. 
Tell  it  right  out/'  I  then  stated  the  case.  He  asked 
who  was  behind  the  applicant.  I  told  him.  Then  he 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  169 

said,  "Yes,  that's  all  right,"  to  each  one  until  I  men 
tioned  also  the  staff  of  the  gentleman's  newspaper,  which 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  powerful  in  the 
country  but  a  merciless  critic  of  the  president.  He 
shouted  at  once:  "That  settles  it.  Nothing  which  that 
paper  wishes  will  receive  any  consideration  from  me." 
Singularly  enough,  the  paper  subsequently  became  one 
of  his  ardent  advocates  and  supporters. 

On  another  occasion  I  was  entering  his  private  office 
as  another  senator  was  coming  out  of  the  Cabinet  room, 
which  was  filled.  He  called  out:  "Senator  Depew,  do 
you  know  that  man  going  out?"  I  answered:  "Yes,  he 
is  a  colleague  of  mine  in  the  Senate."  "Well,"  he 
shouted,  "he  is  a  crook."  His  judgment  subsequently 
proved  correct. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his  wife  were  all  their  lives  in  the 
social  life  of  the  old  families  of  New  York  who  were 
admitted  leaders.  They  carried  to  the  White  House 
the  culture  and  conventions  of  what  is  called  the  best 
society  of  the  great  capitals  of  the  world.  This  experi 
ence  and  education  came  to  a  couple  who  were  most 
democratic  in  their  views.  They  loved  to  see  people 
and  met  and  entertained  every  one  with  delightful  hos 
pitality. 

Roosevelt  was  a  marvel  of  many-sidedness.  Besides 
being  an  executive  as  governor  of  a  great  State  and  ad 
ministrator  as  civil-service  commissioner  and  police  com 
missioner  of  New  York,  he  was  an  author  of  popular 
books  and  a  field  naturalist  of  rare  acquirements.  He 
was  also  a  wonderful  athlete.  I  often  had  occasion  to 
see  him  upon  urgent  matters,  and  was  summoned  to  his 
gymnasium,  where  he  was  having  a  boxing  match  with 
a  well-known  pugilist,  and  getting  the  better  of  his  an- 


1 7o  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

tagonist,  or  else  launching  at  his  fencing  master.  The 
athletics  would  cease,  to  be  resumed  as  soon  as  he  had  in 
his  quick  and  direct  way  disposed  of  what  I  presented. 

Horseback  riding  was  a  favorite  exercise  with  him,  and 
his  experience  on  his  Western  ranch  and  in  the  army  had 
made  him  one  of  the  best  riders  in  the  world.  The  for 
eign  diplomats  in  Washington,  with  their  education  that 
their  first  duty  was  to  be  in  close  touch  with  the  chief 
magistrate,  whether  czar,  queen,  king,  or  president, 
found  their  training  unequal  to  keeping  close  to  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt,  except  one,  and  he  told  me  with  great 
pleasure  that  though  a  poor  rider  he  joined  the  president 
in  his  horseback  morning  excursions.  Sometimes,  he 
said,  when  they  came  to  a  very  steep,  high,  and  rough 
hill  the  president  would  shout,  "Let  us  climb  to  the 
top,"  and  the  diplomat  would  struggle  over  the  stones, 
the  underbrush,  and  gullies,  and  return  to  his  horse  with 
torn  garments  after  sliding  down  the  hill.  At  another 
time,  when  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  where  the 
waters  were  raging  rapids,  the  president  said,  "We  will 
go  to  that  island  in  the  middle  of  the  river,"  and  imme 
diately  plunge  in.  The  diplomat  followed  and  reached 
the  island  after  wading  and  swimming,  and  with  great 
difficulty  returned  with  sufficient  strength  to  reach  home. 
He  had  an  attack  of  pneumonia  from  this  unusual  expo 
sure,  but  thereafter  was  the  envy  and  admiration  of  his 
colleagues  and  increased  the  confidence  of  his  own  gov 
ernment  by  this  intimacy  with  the  president. 

The  president's  dinners  and  luncheons  were  unique 
because  of  his  universal  acquaintance  with  literary  and 
scientific  people.  There  were  generally  some  of  them 
present.  His  infectious  enthusiasm  and  hearty  cordial 
ity  drew  out  the  best  points  of  each  guest.  I  was  pres- 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT  171 

ent  at  a  large  dinner  one  evening  when  an  instance 
occurred  which  greatly  amused  him.  There  were  some 
forty  guests.  When  they  were  seated,  the  president 
noticed  four  vacant  chairs.  He  sent  one  of  his  aides  to 
ascertain  the  trouble.  The  aide  discovered  an  elderly 
senator  standing  with  his  wife,  and  another  senator  and 
a  lady  looking  very  disconsolate.  The  aged  senator 
refused  to  take  out  a  lady  as  his  card  directed  or  leave 
his  wife  to  a  colleague.  He  said  to  the  president's  aide, 
who  told  him  that  dinner  was  waiting  and  what  he  had 
to  do:  "When  I  eat  I  eat  with  my  wife,  or  I  don't  eat  at 
all."  The  old  gentleman  had  his  way. 

The  president  had  one  story  which  he  told  often  and 
with  much  glee.  While  he  was  on  the  ranch  the  neigh 
bors  had  caught  a  horse  thief  and  hung  him.  They  soon 
discovered  that  they  had  made  a  mistake  and  hung  the 
wrong  man.  The  most  diplomatic  among  the  ranchers 
was  selected  to  take  the  body  home  and  break  the  news 
gently  to  his  wife.  The  cowboy  ambassador  asked  the 
wife:  "Are  you  the  wife  of-  -?"  She  answered  "Yes." 
"Well,"  said  the  ambassador,  "you  are  mistaken.  You 
are  his  widow.  I  have  his  body  in  the  wagon.  You 
need  not  feel  bad  about  it,  because  we  hung  him  think 
ing  he  was  the  horse  thief.  We  soon  after  found  that 
he  was  innocent.  The  joke  is  on  us." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  intensely  human  and  rarely  tried 
to  conceal  his  feelings.  He  was  to  address  the  New 
York  State  Fair  at  Syracuse.  The  management  invited 
me  as  a  United  States  Senator  from  New  York  to  be 
present.  There  were  at  least  twenty  thousand  on  the 
fair  ground,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  read  his  speech,  which  he 
had  elaborately  prepared,  detailing  his  scheme  for  har 
monizing  the  relations  between  labor  and  capital.  The 


1 72  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

speech  was  long  and  very  able  and  intended  for  publica 
tion  all  over  the  country.  But  his  audience,  who  were 
farmers,  were  not  much  interested  in  the  subject.  Be 
sides,  they  had  been  wearied  wandering  around  the 
grounds  and  doing  the  exhibits,  waiting  for  the  meeting 
to  begin.  I  know  of  nothing  so  wearisome  to  mind  and 
body  as  to  spend  hours  going  through  the  exhibits  of  a 
great  fair.  When  the  president  finished,  the  audience 
began  calling  for  me.  I  was  known  practically  to  every 
one  of  them  from  my  long  career  on  the  platform. 

Knowing  Roosevelt  as  I  did,  I  was  determined  not  to 
speak,  but  the  fair  management  and  the  audience  would 
not  be  denied.  I  paid  the  proper  compliments  to  the 
president,  and  then,  knowing  that  humor  was  the  only 
possible  thing  with  such  a  tired  crowd,  I  had  a  rollicking 
good  time  with  them.  They  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
the  fun  and  responded  in  a  most  uproarious  way.  I 
heard  Roosevelt  turn  to  the  president  of  the  fair  and  say 
very  angrily:  "You  promised  me,  sir,  that  there  would 
be  no  other  speaker." 

When  I  met  the  president  that  evening  at  a  large  din 
ner  given  by  Senator  Frank  Hiscock,  he  greeted  me  with 
the  utmost  cordiality.  He  was  in  fine  form,  and  early 
in  the  dinner  took  entire  charge  of  the  discussion.  For 
three  hours  he  talked  most  interestingly,  and  no  one 
else  contributed  a  word.  Nevertheless,  we  all  enjoyed 
the  evening,  and  not  the  least  the  president  himself. 

I  used  to  wonder  how  he  found  time,  with  his  great 
activities  and  engagements,  to  read  so  much.  Pub 
lishers  frequently  send  me  new  books.  If  I  thought 
they  would  interest  him  I  mentioned  the  work  to  him, 
but  invariably  he  had  already  read  it. 

When  my  first  term  as  senator  expired  and  the  ques- 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  173 

tion  of  my  re-election  was  before  the  legislature,  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt  gave  me  his  most  cordial  and  hearty 
support. 

Events  to  his  credit  as  president,  which  will  be  monu 
ments  in  history,  are  extraordinary  in  number  and  im 
portance.  To  mention  only  a  few:  He  placed  the  Mon 
roe  Doctrine  before  European  governments  upon  an  im 
pregnable  basis  by  his  defiance  to  the  German  Kaiser, 
when  he  refused  to  accept  arbitration  and  was  deter 
mined  to  make  war  on  Venezuela.  The  president  cabled : 
"Admiral  Dewey  with  the  Atlantic  Fleet  sails  to-mor 
row."  And  the  Kaiser  accepted  arbitration.  Raissuli, 
the  Moroccan  bandit,  who  had  seized  and  held  for  ran 
som  an  American  citizen  named  Perdicaris,  gave  up  his 
captive  on  receipt  of  this  cable:  "Perdicaris  alive  or 
Raissuli  dead."  He  settled  the  war  between  Russia  and 
Japan  and  won  the  Nobel  prize  for  peace. 

Roosevelt  built  the  Panama  Canal  when  other  efforts 
had  failed  for  five  hundred  years.  As  senator  from  his 
own  State,  I  was  in  constant  consultation  with  him  while 
he  was  urging  legislation  necessary  to  secure  the  conces 
sion  for  the  construction  of  the  canal.  The  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  in  both  Houses  seemed  insurmountable, 
and  would  have  been  so  except  for  the  marvellous  re 
sourcefulness  and  power  of  the  president. 

When  the  Republican  convention  met  in  1908,  I  was 
again  delegate  at  large.  It  was  a  Roosevelt  convention 
and  crazy  to  have  him  renominated.  It  believed  that 
he  could  overcome  the  popular  feeling  against  a  third 
term.  Roosevelt  did  not  think  so.  He  believed  that  in 
order  to  make  a  third  term  palatable  there  must  be  an 
interval  of  another  and  different  administration.  When 
the  convention  found  that  his  decision  was  unalterably 


174  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

not  to  accept  the  nomination  himself,  it  was  prepared  to 
accept  any  one  he  might  advise.  He  selected  his  secre 
tary  of  war  and  most  intimate  friend,  William  Howard 
Taft.  Taft  had  a  delightful  personality,  and  won  dis 
tinction  upon  the  bench,  and  had  proved  an  admirable 
administrator  as  governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 
After  Mr.  Taft's  election  the  president,  in  order  that  the 
new  president  and  his  administration  might  not  be  em 
barrassed  by  his  presence  and  prestige,  went  on  a  two 
years'  trip  abroad. 

During  that  trip  he  was  more  in  the  popular  mind  at 
home  and  abroad  than  almost  any  one  in  the  world.  If 
he  reviewed  the  German  army  with  the  Kaiser,  the  press 
was  full  of  the  common  characteristics  and  differences 
between  the  two  men  and  of  the  unprecedented  event  of 
the  guest  giving  advice  to  the  Kaiser. 

When  he  visited  England  he  told  in  a  public  speech  of 
his  experience  in  Egypt,  and  recommended  to  the  Eng 
lish  Government  that,  if  they  expected  to  continue  to 
govern  Egypt,  to  begin  to  govern  it. 

All  France  was  aghast  and  then  hilarious  when,  in  an 
address  before  the  faculties  of  Sorbonne,  he  struck  at 
once  at  the  weak  point  of  the  future  and  power  of  France, 
and  that  was  race  suicide. 


XV 
UNITED  STATES  SENATE 

My  twelve  years  in  the  Senate  were  among  the  happi 
est  of  my  life.  The  Senate  has  long  enjoyed  the  repu 
tation  of  being  the  best  club  in  the  world,  but  it  is  more 
than  that.  My  old  friend,  Senator  Bacon,  of  Georgia, 
often  said  that  he  preferred  the  position  of  senator  to 
that  of  either  President  or  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States.  There  is  independence  in  a  term  of  six  years 
which  is  of  enormous  value  to  the  legislative  work  of  the 
senator.  The  member  of  the  House,  who  is  compelled 
to  go  before  his  district  every  two  years,  must  spend 
most  of  his  time  looking  after  his  re-election.  Then  the 
Senate,  being  a  smaller  body,  the  associations  are  very 
close  and  intimate.  I  do  not  intend  to  go  into  discussion 
of  the  measures  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  during  my  time.  They  are  a  part  of  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  value  of  a  work  of  this  kind,  if  it  has 
any  value,  is  in  personal  incidents. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  associations  of  a  lifetime, 
personally  and  politically,  was  that  with  Vice-President 
James  S.  Sherman.  During  the  twenty-two  years  he 
was  in  the  House  of  Representatives  he  rarely  was  in  the 
City  of  New  York  without  coming  to  see  me.  He  be 
came  the  best  parliamentarian  in  Congress,  and  was  gen 
erally  called  to  the  chair  when  the  House  met  in  com 
mittee  of  the  whole.  He  was  intimately  familiar  with 
every  political  movement  in  Washington,  and  he  had  a 

175 


176  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

rare  talent  for  discriminatory  description,  both  of  events 
and  analysis  of  the  leading  characters  in  the  Washing 
ton  drama.  He  was  one  of  the  wisest  of  the  advisers  of 
the  organization  of  his  party,  both  national  and  State. 

When  President  Roosevelt  had  selected  Mr.  Taft  as 
his  successor  he  made  no  indication  as  to  the  vice-presi 
dency.  Of  course,  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Taft  under 
such  conditions  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  when  the 
convention  met  it  was  practically  unanimous  for  Roose 
velt's  choice.  Who  was  the  best  man  to  nominate  for 
vice-president  in  order  to  strengthen  the  ticket  embar 
rassed  the  managers  of  the  Taft  campaign.  The  Repub 
lican  congressmen  who  were  at  the  convention  were  prac 
tically  unanimous  for  Sherman,  and  their  leader  was 
Uncle  Joe  Cannon.  We  from  New  York  found  the  Taft 
managers  discussing  candidates  from  every  doubtful 
State.  We  finally  convinced  them  that  New  York  was 
the  most  important,  but  they  had  gone  so  far  with  State 
candidates  that  it  became  a  serious  question  how  to  get 
rid  of  them  without  offending  their  States. 

The  method  adopted  by  one  of  the  leading  managers 
was  both  adroit  and  hazardous.  He  would  call  up  a 
candidate  on  the  telephone  and  say  to  him:  "The  friends 
of  Mr.  Taft  are  very  favorable  to  you  for  vice-president. 
Will  you  accept  the  nomination?"  The  candidate 
would  hesitate  and  begin  to  explain  his  ambitions,  his 
career  and  its  possibilities,  and  the  matter  which  he 
would  have  to  consider.  Before  the  prospective  candi 
date  had  finished,  the  manager  would  say,  "Very  sorry, 
deeply  regret,"  and  put  up  the  telephone. 

When  the  nomination  was  made  these  gentlemen  who 
might  have  succeeded  would  come  around  to  the  man 
ager  and  say  impatiently  and  indignantly:  "I  was  all 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  177 

right.  Why  did  you  cut  me  off?"  However,  those  gen 
tlemen  have  had  their  compensation.  Whenever  you 
meet  one  of  them  he  will  say  to  you:  "I  was  offered  the 
vice-presidency  with  Taft  but  was  so  situated  that  I 
could  not  accept." 

One  evening  during  the  convention  a  wind  and  rain 
storm  drove  everybody  indoors.  The  great  lobby  of 
Congress  Hall  was  crowded,  and  most  of  them  were  dele 
gates.  Suddenly  there  was  a  loud  call  for  a  speech,  and 
some  husky  and  athletic  citizen  seized  and  lifted  me  on 
to  a  chair.  After  a  story  and  a  joke,  which  put  the 
crowd  into  a  receptive  mood,  I  made  what  was  practi 
cally  a  nominating  speech  for  Sherman.  The  response 
was  intense  and  unanimous.  When  I  came  down  from 
a  high  flight  as  to  the  ability  and  popularity  to  the 
human  qualities  of  "Sunny  Jim,"  I  found  "Sunny  Jim" 
such  a  taking  characterization,  and  it  was  echoed  and  re 
echoed.  I  do  not  claim  that  speech  nominated  Sherman, 
only  that  nearly  everybody  who  was  present  became  a 
most  vociferous  advocate  for  Sherman  for  vice-president. 

The  position  of  vice-president  is  one  of  the  most  diffi 
cult  in  our  government.  Unless  the  president  requests 
his  advice  or  assistance,  he  has  no  public  function  except 
presiding  over  the  Senate.  No  president  ever  called  the 
vice-president  into  his  councils.  McKinley  came  near 
est  to  it  during  his  administration,  with  Hobart,  but  did 
not  keep  it  up. 

President  Harding  has  made  a  precedent  for  the 
future  by  inviting  Vice-President  Coolidge  to  attend  all 
Cabinet  meetings.  The  vice-president  has  accepted  and 
meets  regularly  with  the  Cabinet. 

Sherman  had  one  advantage  over  other  vice-presidents 
in  having  been  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  a  leader 


178  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

in  Congress.  Few,  if  any,  who  ever  held  that  office  have 
been  so  popular  with  the  Senate  and  so  tactful  and  influ 
ential  when  they  undertook  the  very  difficult  task  of  in 
fluencing  the  action  of  a  Senate,  very  jealous  of  its  pre 
rogatives  and  easily  made  resentful  and  hostile. 

Among  my  colleagues  in  the  Senate  were  several  re 
markable  men.  They  had  great  ability,  extraordinary 
capacity  for  legislation,  and,  though  not  great  orators, 
possessed  the  rare  faculty  of  pressing  their  points  home 
in  short  and  effective  speeches.  Among  them  was  Sen 
ator  Frye,  of  Maine.  He  was  for  many  years  chairman 
of  the  great  committee  on  commerce.  Whatever  we  had 
of  a  merchant  marine  was  largely  due  to  his  persistent 
efforts.  He  saved  the  government  scores  of  millions  in 
that  most  difficult  task  of  pruning  the  River  and  Harbor 
Bill.  He  possessed  the  absolute  confidence  of  both  par 
ties,  and  was  the  only  senator  who  could  generally  carry 
the  Senate  with  him  for  or  against  a  measure.  While 
wise  and  the  possessor  of  the  largest  measure  of  common 
sense,  yet  he  was  one  of  the  most  simple-minded  of  men. 
I  mean  by  this  that  he  had  no  guile  and  suspected  none 
in  others.  Whatever  was  uppermost  in  his  mind  came 
out.  These  characteristics  made  him  one  of  the  most 
delightful  of  companions  and  one  of  the  most  harmonious 
men  to  work  with  on  a  committee. 

Clement  A.  Griscom,  the  most  prominent  American 
ship  owner  and  director,  was  very  fond  of  Senator  Frye. 
Griscom  entertained  delightfully  at  his  country  home 
near  Philadelphia.  He  told  me  that  at  one  time  Senator 
Frye  was  his  guest  over  a  week-end.  To  meet  the  sena 
tor  at  dinner  on  Saturday  evening,  he  had  invited  great 
bankers,  lawyers,  and  captains  of  industry  of  Phila 
delphia.  Their  conversation  ran  from  enterprises  and 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  179 

combinations  involving  successful  industries  and  ex 
ploitations  to  individual  fortunes  and  how  they  were  ac 
cumulated.  The  atmosphere  was  heavy  with  millions 
and  billions.  Suddenly  Griscom  turned  to  Senator  Frye 
and  said:  "I  know  that  our  successful  friends  here  would 
not  only  be  glad  to  hear  but  would  learn  much  if  you 
would  tell  us  of  your  career."  "It  is  not  much  to  tell," 
said  Senator  Frye,  "especially  after  these  stories  which 
are  like  chapters  from  the  'Arabian  Nights/  I  was  very 
successful  as  a  young  lawyer  and  rising  to  a  leading  prac 
tice  and  head  of  the  bar  of  my  State  when  I  was  offered 
an  election  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  I  felt  that 
it  would  be  a  permanent  career  and  that  there  was  no 
money  in  it.  I  consulted  my  wife  and  told  her  that  it 
meant  giving  up  all  prospects  of  accumulating  a  fortune 
or  independence  even,  but  it  was  my  ambition,  and  I 
believed  I  could  perform  valuable  service  to  the  public, 
and  that  as  a  career  its  general  usefulness  would  far  sur 
pass  any  success  at  the  bar.  My  wife  agreed  with  me 
cordially  and  said  that  she  would  economize  on  her  part 
to  any  extent  required. 

"So,"  the  senator  continued,  "I  have  been  nearly 
thirty  years  in  Congress,  part  of  this  time  in  the  House 
and  the  rest  in  the  Senate.  I  have  been  able  on  my 
salary  to  meet  our  modest  requirements  and  educate 
our  children.  I  have  never  been  in  debt  but  once.  Of 
course,  we  had  to  calculate  closely  and  set  aside  sufficient 
to  meet  our  extra  expenses  in  Washington  and  our  ordi 
nary  one  at  home.  We  came  out  a  little  ahead  every 
year  but  one.  That  year  the  president  very  unexpect 
edly  called  an  extra  session,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
twenty  years  I  was  in  debt  to  our  landlord  in  Wash 
ington." 


i8o  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Grfscom  told  me  that  this  simple  narrative  of  a  states 
man  of  national  reputation  seemed  to  make  the  monu 
mental  achievements  of  his  millionaire  guests  of  little 
account. 

Senator  Frye's  genial  personality  and  vivid  conversa 
tion  made  him  a  welcome  guest  at  all  entertainments  in 
Washington.  There  was  a  lady  at  the  capital  at  that 
time  who  entertained  a  great  deal  and  was  very  popular 
on  her  own  account,  but  she  always  began  the  conver 
sation  with  the  gentleman  who  took  her  out  by  narrating 
how  she  won  her  husband.  I  said  one  day  to  Senator 
Frye:  "There  will  be  a  notable  gathering  at  So-and-So's 
dinner  to-night.  Are  you  going?"  He  answered:  "Yes, 
I  will  be  there;  but  it  has  been  my  lot  to  escort  to  dinner 
this  lady" — naming  her— "thirteen  times  this  winter. 
She  has  told  me  thirteen  times  the  story  of  her  courtship. 
If  it  is  my  luck  to  be  assigned  to  her  to-night,  and  she 
starts  that  story,  I  shall  leave  the  table  and  the  house 
and  go  home." 

Senator  Aldrich,  of  Rhode  Island,  was  once  called  by 
Senator  Quay  the  schoolmaster  of  the  Senate.  As  the 
head  of  the  finance  committee  he  had  commanding  influ 
ence,  and  with  his  skill  in  legislation  and  intimate  knowl 
edge  of  the  rules  he  was  the  leader  whenever  he  chose 
to  lead.  This  he  always  did  when  the  policy  he  desired 
or  the  measure  he  was  promoting  had  a  majority,  and 
the  opposition  resorted  to  obstructive  tactics.  As  there 
is  no  restriction  on  debate  in  the  Senate,  or  was  none  at 
my  time,  the  only  way  the  minority  could  defeat  the 
majority  was  by  talking  the  bill  to  death.  I  never  knew 
this  method  to  be  used  successfully  but  once,  because  in 
the  trial  of  endurance  the  greater  number  wins.  The 
only  successful  talk  against  time  was  by  Senator  Carter, 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  181 

of  Montana.  Carter  was  a  capital  debater.  He  was  in 
valuable  at  periods  when  the  discussion  had  become  very 
bitter  and  personal.  Then  in  his  most  suave  way  he 
would  soothe  the  angry  elements  and  bring  the  Senate 
back  to  a  calm  consideration  of  the  question.  When  he 
arose  on  such  occasions,  the  usual  remark  among  those 
who  still  kept  their  heads  was:  "Carter  will  now  bring 
out  his  oil  can  and  pour  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters" — 
and  it  usually  proved  effective. 

Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  seemed  to 
be  a  revival  of  what  we  pictured  in  imagination  as  the 
statesmen  who  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  or  the  senators  who  sat  with  Webster,  Clay,  and 
Calhoun.  He  was  a  man  of  lofty  ideals  and  devotion  to 
public  service.  He  gave  to  each  subject  on  which  he 
spoke  an  elevation  and  dignity  that  lifted  it  out  of  ordi 
nary  senatorial  discussions.  He  had  met  and  knew  inti 
mately  most  of  the  historical  characters  in  our  public  life 
for  fifty  years,  and  was  one  of  the  most  entertaining  and 
instructive  conversationalists  whom  I  ever  met. 

On  the  other  hand,  Senator  Benjamin  Tillman,  of 
South  Carolina,  who  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Senator 
Hoar,  was  his  opposite  in  every  way.  Tillman  and  I  be 
came  very  good  friends,,  though  at  first  he  was  exceed 
ingly  hostile.  He  hated  everything  which  I  represented. 
With  all  his  roughness,  and  at  the  beginning  his  brutal 
ity,  he  had  a  singular  streak  of  sentiment. 

I  addressed  the  first  dinner  of  the  Gridiron  Club  at  its 
organization  and  have  been  their  guest  many  times  since. 
The  Gridiron  Club  is  an  association  of  the  newspaper 
correspondents  at  Washington,  and  their  dinners  several 
times  a  year  are  looked  forward  to  with  the  utmost  inter 
est  and  enjoyed  by  everybody  privileged  to  attend. 


1 82  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  Gridiron  Club  planned  an  excursion  to  Charleston, 
S.  C,  that  city  having  extended  to  them  an  invitation. 
They  invited  me  to  go  with  them  and  also  Senator  Till- 
man.  Tillman  refused  to  be  introduced  to  me  because 
I  was  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad,  and  he  hated  my  associations 
and  associates.  We  had  a  wonderful  welcome  from  the 
most  hospitable  of  cities,  the  most  beautifully  located 
City  of  Charleston.  On  the  many  excursions,  luncheons, 
and  gatherings,  I  was  put  forward  to  do  the  speaking, 
which  amounted  to  several  efforts  a  day  during  our  three 
days'  visit.  The  Gridiron  stunt  for  Charleston  was  very 
audacious.  There  were  many  speakers,  of  course,  in 
cluding  Senator  Tillman,  who  hated  Charleston  and  the 
Charlestonians,  because  he  regarded  them  as  aristocrats 
and  told  them  so.  There  were  many  invited  to  speak 
who  left  their  dinners  untasted  while  they  devoted  them 
selves  to  looking  over  their  manuscripts,  and  whose 
names  were  read  in  the  list  at  the  end  of  the  dinner,  but 
their  speeches  were  never  called  for. 

On  our  way  home  we  stopped  for  luncheon  at  a  place 
outside  of  Charleston.  During  the  luncheon  an  earth 
quake  shook  the  table  and  rattled  the  plates.  I  was 
called  upon  to  make  the  farewell  address  for  the  Grid 
iron  Club  to  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  Of  course  the 
earthquake  and  its  possibilities  gave  an  opportunity  for 
pathos  as  well  as  humor,  and  Tillman  was  deeply 
affected.  When  we  were  on  the  train  he  came  to  me 
and  with  great  emotion  grasped  my  hand  and  said: 
"Chauncey  Depew,  I  was  mistaken  about  you.  You 
are  a  damn  good  fellow."  And  we  were  good  friends 
until  he  died. 

I  asked  Tillman  to  what  he  owed  his  phenomenal  rise 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  183 

and  strength  in  the  conservative  State  of  South  Caro 
lina.  He  answered:  "We  in  our  State  were  governed  by 
a  class  during  the  colonial  period  and  afterwards  until 
the  end  of  the  Civil  War.  They  owned  large  planta 
tions,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  negroes,  were  educated 
for  public  life,  represented  our  State  admirably,  and  did 
great  service  to  the  country.  They  were  aristocrats  and 
paid  little  attention  to  us  poor  farmers,  who  constituted 
the  majority  of  the  people.  The  only  difference  between 
us  was  that  they  had  been  colonels  or  generals  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  or  delegates  to  the  Continental 
Congress  or  the  Constitutional  Convention,  while  we  had 
been  privates,  corporals,  or  sergeants.  They  generally 
owned  a  thousand  slaves,  and  we  had  from  ten  to  thirty. 
I  made  up  my  mind  that  we  should  have  a  share  of  the 
honors,  and  they  laughed  at  me.  I  organized  the  ma 
jority  and  put  the  old  families  out  of  business,  and  we 
became  and  are  the  rulers  of  the  State." 

Among  the  most  brilliant  debaters  of  any  legislative 
body  were  Senators  Joseph  W.  Bailey,  of  Texas,  and 
John  C.  Spooner,  of  Wisconsin.  They  would  have 
adorned  and  given  distinction  to  any  legislative  body  in 
the  world.  Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge,  of  Indiana,  and 
Senator  Joseph  B.  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  were  speakers  of  a 
very  high  type.  The  Senate  still  has  the  statesmanship, 
eloquence,  scholarship,  vision,  and  culture  of  Senator 
Lodge,  of  Massachusetts. 

One  of  the  wonders  of  the  Senate  was  Senator  W.  M. 
Crane,  of  Massachusetts.  He  never  made  a  speech.  I 
do  not  remember  that  he  ever  made  a  motion.  Yet  he 
was  the  most  influential  member  of  that  body.  His  wis 
dom,  tact,  sound  judgment,  encyclopaedic  knowledge  of 
public  affairs  and  of  public  men  made  him  an  authority. 


1 84  CHAUNCEY   M.   DEPEW 

• 

Senator  Hanna,  who  was  a  business  man  pure  and  sim 
ple,  and  wholly  unfamiliar  with  legislative  ways,  devel 
oped  into  a  speaker  of  remarkable  force  and  influence. 
At  the  same  time,  on  the  social  side,  with  his  frequent 
entertainments,  he  did  more  for  the  measures  in  which 
he  was  interested.  They  were  mainly,  of  course,  of  a 
financial  and  economic  character. 

One  of  the  characters  of  the  Senate,  and  one  of  the 
upheavals  of  the  Populist  movement  was  Senator  Jeff. 
Davis,  of  Arkansas.  Davis  was  loudly,  vociferously, 
and  clamorously  a  friend  of  the  people.  Precisely  what 
he  did  to  benefit  the  people  was  never  very  clear,  but  if 
we  must  take  his  word  for  it,  he  was  the  only  friend  the 
people  had.  Among  his  efforts  to  help  the  people  was 
to  denounce  big  business  of  all  kinds  and  anything  which 
gave  large  employment  or  had  great  capital.  I  think 
that  in  his  own  mind  the  ideal  state  would  have  been 
made  of  small  landowners  and  an  occasional  lawyer. 
He  himself  was  a  lawyer. 

One  day  he  attacked  me,  as  I  was  sitting  there  listen^ 
ing  to  him,  in  a  most  vicious  way,  as  the  representative 
of  big  corporations,  especially  railroads,  and  one  of  th§ 
leading  men  in  the  worst  city  in  the  world,  New  York, 
and  as  the  associate  of  bankers  and  capitalists.  When 
he  finished  Senator  Crane  went  over  to  his  seat  and  told 
him  that  he  had  made  a  great  mistake,  warned  him  that 
he  had  gone  so  far  that  I  might  be  dangerous  to  him  per 
sonally,  but  in  addition  to  that,  with  my  ridicule  and 
humor,  I  would  make  him  the  laughing-stock  of  the 
Senate  and  of  the  country.  Jeff,  greatly  alarmed,  wad 
dled  over  to  my  seat  and  said:  "Senator  Depew,  I  hope 
you  did  not  take  seriously  what  I  said.  I  did  not  mean 
anything  against  you.  I  won't  do  it  again,  but  I  thought 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  185 

that  you  would  not  care,  because  it  won't  hurt  you,  and 
it  does  help  me  out  in  Arkansas."  I  replied:  "Jeff,  old 
man,  if  it  helps  you,  do  it  as  often  as  you  like."  Need 
less  to  say,  he  did  not  repeat. 

I  Lave  always  been  deeply  interested  in  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  forests  and  a  warm  advocate  of  forest  pre 
servers.  I  made  a  study  of  the  situation  of  the  Ap 
palachian  Mountains,  where  the  lumberman  was  doing 
his  worst,  and  millions  of  acres  of  fertile  soil  from  the 
denuded  hills  were  being  swept  by  the  floods  into  the 
ocean  every  year.  I  made  a  report  from  my  committee 
for  the  purchase  of  this  preserve,  affecting,  as  it  did, 
eight  States,  and  supported  it  in  a  speech.  Senator 
Eugene  Hale,  a  Senate  leader  of  controlling  influence, 
had  been  generally  opposed  to  this  legislation.  He  be 
came  interested,  and,  when  I  had  finished  my  speech, 
came  over  to  me  and  said:  "I  never  gave  much  attention 
to  this  subject.  You  have  convinced  me  and  this  bill 
should  be  passed  at  once,  and  I  will  make  the  motion." 
Several  senators  from  the  States  affected  asked  for  delay 
in  order  that  they  might  deliver  speeches  for  local  con 
sumption.  The  psychological  moment  passed  and  that 
legislation  could  not  be  revived  until  ten  years  after 
wards,  and  then  in  a  seriously  modified  form. 

I  worked  very  hard  for  the  American  mercantile  ma 
rine.  A  subsidy  of  four  million  dollars  a  year  in  mail 
contracts  would  have  been  sufficient,  in  addition  to  the 
earnings  of  the  ships,  to  have  given  us  lines  to  South  and 
Central  America,  Australia,  and  Asia. 

Shakespeare's  famous  statement  that  a  rose  by  any 
other  name  would  smell  as  sweet  has  exceptions.  In  the 
psychology  of  the  American  mind  the  word  subsidy  is 
fatal  to  any  measure.  After  the  most  careful  investiga- 


186  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

tion,  while  I  was  in  the  Senate,  I  verified  this  statement, 
that  a  mail  subsidy  of  four  millions  a  year  would  give 
to  the  United  States  a  mercantile  marine  which  would 
open  new  trade  routes  for  our  commerce.  This  contri 
bution  would  enable  the  ship-owners  to  meet  the  losses 
which  made  it  impossible  for  them  to  compete  with  the 
ships  of  other  countries,  some  having  subsidies  and  all 
under  cheaper  expenses  of  operation.  It  would  not  all 
be  a  contribution  because  part  of  it  was  a  legitimate 
charge  for  carrying  the  mails.  The  word  subsidy,  how 
ever,  could  be  relied  upon  to  start  a  flood  of  fiery  ora 
tory,  charging  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  were 
to  be  taxed  to  pour  money  into  the  pockets  of  specula 
tors  in  New  York  and  financial  crooks  in  Wall  Street, 

We  have  now  created  a  mercantile  marine  through  the 
Shipping  Board  which  is  the  wonder  and  amazement  of 
the  world.  It  has  cost  about  five  hundred  millions. 
Part  of  it  is  junk  already,  and  a  part  available  is  run  at 
immense  loss,  owing  to  discriminatory  laws.  Recently  a 
bill  was  presented  to  Congress  for  something  like  sixty 
millions  of  dollars  to  make  up  the  losses  in  the  opera 
tions  of  our  mercantile  marine  for  the  year.  While  a 
subsidy  of  four  millions  under  private  management 
would  have  been  a  success  but  was  vetoed  as  a  crime, 
the  sixty  millions  are  hailed  as  a  patriotic  contribution 
to  public  necessity. 

A  river  and  harbor  bill  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  millions 
of  dollars  was  eagerly  anticipated  and  enthusiastically 
supported.  It  was  known  to  be  a  give  and  take,  a  swap 
and  exchange,  where  a  few  indispensable  improvements 
had  to  carry  a  large  number  of  dredgings  of  streams, 
creeks,  and  bayous,  which  never  could  be  made  naviga 
ble.  Many  millions  a  year  were  thrown  away  in  these 


UNITED  STATES  SENATE  187 

river  and  harbor  bills,  but  four  millions  a  year  to  restore 
the  American  mercantile  marine  aroused  a  flood  of  indig 
nant  eloquence,  fierce  protest,  and  wild  denunciation  of 
capitalists,  who  would  build  and  own  ships,  and  it  was 
always  fatal  to  the  mercantile  marine. 

Happily  the  war  has,  among  its  benefits,  demonstrated 
to  the  interior  and  mountain  States  that  a  merchant 
marine  is  as  necessary  to  the  United  States  as  its  navy, 
and  that  we  cannot  hope  to  expand  and  retain  our  trade 
unless  we  have  the  ships. 

I  remember  one  year  when  the  river  and  harbor  bill 
came  up  for  passage  on  the  day  before  final  adjourn 
ment.  The  hour  had  been  fixed  by  both  Houses,  and, 
therefore,  could  not  be  extended  by  one  House.  The 
administration  was  afraid  of  the  bill  because  of  the 
many  indefensible  extravagances  there  were  in  it.  At 
the  same  time,  it  had  so  many  political  possibilities  that 
the  president  was  afraid  to  veto  it.  Senator  Carter  was 
always  a  loyal  administration  man,  and  so  he  was  put 
forward  to  talk  the  bill  to  death.  He  kept  it  up  without 
yielding  the  floor  for  thirteen  hours,  and  until  the  hour  of 
adjournment  made  action  upon  the  measure  impossible. 

I  sat  there  all  night  long,  watching  this  remarkable 
effort.  The  usual  obstructor  soon  uses  up  all  his  own 
material  and  then  sends  pages  of  irrelevant  matter  to  the 
desk  for  the  clerk  to  read,  or  he  reads  himself  from  the 
pages  of  the  Record,  or  from  books,  but  Carter  stuck  to 
his  text.  He  was  a  man  of  wit  and  humor.  Many  items 
in  the  river  and  harbor  bill  furnished  him  with  an  oppor 
tunity  of  showing  how  creeks  and  trout  streams  were  to 
be  turned  by  the  magic  of  the  money  of  the  Treasury  into 
navigable  rivers,  and  inaccessible  ponds  were  to  be 
dredged  into  harbors  to  float  the  navies  of  the  world. 


1 88  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

The  speech  was  very  rich  in  anecdotes  and  delightful 
in  its  success  by  an  adroit  attack  of  tempting  a  supporter 
of  the  measure  into  aiding  the  filibuster  by  indignantly 
denying  the  charge  which  Carter  had  made  against  him. 
By  this  method  Carter  would  get  a  rest  by  the  folly  of 
his  opponent.  The  Senate  was  full  and  the  galleries 
were  crowded  during  the  whole  night,  and  when  the 
gavel  of  the  vice-president  announced  that  no  further 
debate  was  admissible  and  the  time  for  adjournment  had 
arrived,  and  began  to  make  his  farewell  speech,  Carter 
took  his  seat  amidst  the  wreck  of  millions  and  the  hopes 
of  the  exploiters,  and  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States 
had  been  saved  by  an  unexpected  champion. 

The  country  does  not  appreciate  the  tremendous 
power  of  the  committees,  as  legislative  business  con 
stantly  increases  with  almost  geometrical  progression. 
The  legislation  of  the  country  is  handled  almost  entirely 
in  committees.  It  requires  a  possible  revolution  to  over 
come  the  hostility  of  a  committee,  even  if  the  House  and 
the  country  are  otherwise  minded.  Some  men  whose 
names  do  not  appear  at  all  in  the  Congressional  Record, 
and  seldom  in  the  newspapers,  have  a  certain  talent  for 
drudgery  and  detail  which  is  very  rare,  and  when  added 
to  shrewdness  and  knowledge  of  human  nature  makes 
such  a  senator  or  representative  a  force  to  be  reckoned 
with  on  committees.  Such  a  man  is  able  to  hold  up  al 
most  anything. 

I  found  during  my  Washington  life  the  enormous  im 
portance  of  its  social  side.  Here  are  several  hundred 
men  in  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  far  above  the  aver 
age  in  intelligence,  force  of  character,  and  ability  to 
accomplish  things.  Otherwise  they  would  not  have  been 
elected.  They  are  very  isolated  and  enjoy  far  beyond 


UNITED  STATES   SENATE  189 

those  who  have  the  opportunity  of  club  life,  social  atten 
tions.  At  dinner  the  real  character  of  the  guest  comes 
out,  and  he  is  most  responsive  to  these  attentions.  Mrs. 
Depew  and  I  gave  a  great  many  dinners,  to  our  intense 
enjoyment  and,  I  might  say,  education.  By  this  method 
I  learned  to  know  in  a  way  more  intimate  than  other 
wise  would  have  been  possible  many  of  the  most  inter 
esting  characters  I  have  ever  met. 

Something  must  be  done,  and  that  speedily,  to  bridge 
the  widening  chasm  between  the  Executive  and  the 
Congress.  Our  experience  with  President  Wilson  has 
demonstrated  this.  As  a  self-centred  autocrat,  confident 
of  himself  and  suspicious  of  others,  hostile  to  advice  or 
discussion,  he  became  the  absolute  master  of  the  Con 
gress  while  his  party  was  in  the  majority. 

The  Congress,  instead  of  being  a  co-ordinate  branch, 
was  really  in  session  only  to  accept,  adopt,  and  put  into 
laws  the  imperious  will  of  the  president.  When,  how 
ever,  the  majority  changed,  there  being  no  confidence 
betwreen  the  executive  and  the  legislative  branch  ,of  the 
government,  the  necessary  procedure  was  almost  para 
lyzed.  The  president  was  unyielding  and  the  Congress 
insisted  upon  the  recognition  of  its  constitutional  rights. 
Even  if  the  president  is,  as  McKinley  was,  in  close  and 
frequent  touch  with  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  the  relation  is  temporary  and  unequal,  and 
not  what  it  ought  to  be,  automatic. 

Happily  we  have  started  a  budget  system;  but  the 
Cabinet  should  have  seats  on  the  floor  of  the  Houses,  and 
authority  to  answer  questions  and  participate  in  debates. 
Unless  our  system  was  radically  changed,  we  could  not 
adopt  the  English  plan  of  selecting  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet  entirely  from  the  Senate  and  the  House.  But 


igo  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

we  could  have  an  administration  always  in  close  touch 
with  the  Congress  if  the  Cabinet  members  were  in 
attendance  when  matters  affecting  their  several  depart 
ments  were  under  discussion  and  action. 

I  heard  Senator  Nelson  W.  Aldrich,  who  was  one  of  the 
shrewdest  and  ablest  legislators  of  our  generation,  say 
that  if  business  methods  were  applied  to  the  business  of 
the  government  in  a  way  in  which  he  could  do  it,  there 
would  be  a  saving  of  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars  a 
year.  We  are,  since  the  Great  War,  facing  appropria 
tions  of  five  or  six  billions  of  dollars  a  year.  I  think  the 
saving  of  three  hundred  millions  suggested  by  Senator 
Aldrich  could  be  increased  in  proportion  to  the  vast 
increase  in  appropriations. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  about  restricting  un 
limited  debates  in  the  Senate  and  adopting  a  rigid  clo 
sure  rule.  My  own  recollection  is  that  during  my 
twelve  years  unlimited  discussion  defeated  no  good  mea 
sure,  but  talked  many  bad  ones  to  death.  There  is  a 
curious  feature  in  legislative  discussion,  and  that  is  the 
way  in  which  senators  who  have  accustomed  themselves 
to  speak  every  day  on  each  question  apparently  increase 
their  vocabulary  as  their  ideas  evaporate.  Two  senators 
in  my  time,  who  could  be  relied  upon  to  talk  smoothly  as 
the  placid  waters  of  a  running  brook  for  an  hour  or  more 
every  day,  had  the  singular  faculty  of  apparently  saying 
much  of  importance  while  really  developing  no  ideas. 
In  order  to  understand  them,  while  the  Senate  would 
become  empty  by  its  members  going  to  their  committee 
rooms,  I  would  be  a  patient  listener.  I  finally  gave  that 
up  because,  though  endowed  with  reasonable  intelligence 
and  an  intense  desire  for  knowledge,  I  never  could  grasp 
what  they  were  driving  at. 


XVI 

AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS 

The  United  States  has  always  been  admirably  repre 
sented  at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  I  consider  it  as  a  rare 
privilege  and  a  delightful  memory  that  I  have  known 
well  these  distinguished  ambassadors  and  ministers  who 
served  during  my  time.  I  was  not  in  England  while 
Charles  Francis  Adams  was  a  minister,  but  his  work 
during  the  Civil  War  created  intense  interest  in  America. 
It  is  admitted  that  he  prevented  Great  Britain  from  tak 
ing  such  action  as  would  have  prolonged  the  war  and 
endangered  the  purpose  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  trying 
to  accomplish,  namely,  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
His  curt  answer  to  Lord  John  Russell,  "This  means 
war,"  changed  the  policy  of  the  British  Government. 

James  Russell  Lowell  met  every  requirement  of  the 
position,  but,  more  than  that,  his  works  had  been  read 
and  admired  in  England  before  his  appointment.  Lit 
erary  England  welcomed  him  with  open  arms,  and  offi 
cial  England  soon  became  impressed  with  his  diplomatic 
ability.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  after-dinner  speakers, 
and  that  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  best  of  English 
public  life.  He  told  me  an  amusing  instance.  As  soon 
as  he  was  appointed,  everybody  who  expected  to  meet 
him  sent  to  the  book  stores  and  purchased  his  works. 
Among  them,  of  course,  was  the  "Biglow  Papers."  One 
lady  asked  him  if  he  had  brought  Mrs.  Biglow  with  him. 

The  secretary  of  the  embassy,  William  J.  Hoppin,  was 
a  very  accomplished  gentleman.  He  had  been  president 

191 


1 92  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

of  the  Union  League  Club,  and  I  knew  him  very  well. 
I  called  one  day  at  the  embassy  with  an  American  liv 
ing  in  Europe  to  ask  for  a  favor  for  this  fellow  country 
man.  The  embassy  was  overwhelmed  with  Americans 
asking  favors,  so  Hoppin,  without  looking  at  me  or  wait 
ing  for  the  request,  at  once  brought  out  his  formula  for 
sliding  his  visitors  on  an  inclined  plane  into  the  street. 
He  said:  "Every  American — and  there  are  thousands  of 
them — who  eomes  to  London  visits  the  embassy.  They 
all  want  to  be  invited  to  Buckingham  Palace  or  to  have 
cards  to  the  House  of  Lords  or  the  House  of  Commons. 
Our  privileges  in  that  respect  are  very  few,  so  few  that 
we  can  satisfy  hardly  anybody.  Why  Americans,  when 
there  is  so  much  to  see  in  this  old  country  from  which 
our  ancestry  came,  and  with  whose  literature  we  are  so 
familiar,  should  want  to  try  to  get  into  Buckingham  Pal 
ace  or  the  Houses  of  Parliament  is  incomprehensible. 
There  is  a  very  admirable  cattle  show  at  Reading.  I 
have  a  few  tickets  and  will  give  them  to  you,  gentlemen, 
gladly.  You  will  find  the  show  exceedingly  interesting." 

I  took  the  tickets,  but  if  there  is  anything  of  which  I 
am  not  a  qualified  judge,  it  is  prize  cattle.  That  night, 
at  a  large  dinner  given  by  a  well-known  English  host,  my 
friend  Hoppin  was  present,  and  at  once  greeted  me  with 
warm  cordiality.  Of  course,  he  had  no  recollections  of 
the  morning  meeting.  Our  host,  as  usual  when  a  new 
American  is  present,  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  any  fresh 
American  stories,  and  I  told  with  some  exaggeration  and 
embroidery  the  story  of  the  Reading  cattle  show.  Dear 
old  Hoppin  was  considerably  embarrassed  at  the  chafing 
he  received,  but  took  it  in  good  part,  and  thereafter  the 
embassy  was  entirely  at  my  service. 

Mr.  Edward  J.  Phelps  was  an  extraordinary  success. 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         193 

He  was  a  great  lawyer,  and  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  told  me  that  there 
was  no  one  who  appeared  before  that  Court  whose  argu 
ments  were  more  satisfactory  and  convincing  than  those 
of  Mr.  Phelps.  He  had  the  rare  distinction  of  being  a 
frequent  guest  at  the  Benchers'  dinners  in  London.  One 
of  the  English  judges  told  me  that  at  a  Benchers'  dinner 
the  judges  were  discussing  a  novel  point  which  had  arisen 
in  one  of  the  cases  recently  before  them.  He  said  that 
in  the  discussion  in  which  Mr.  Phelps  was  asked  to  par 
ticipate,  the  view  which  the  United  States  minister  pre 
sented  was  so  forcible  that  the  decision,  which  had  been 
practically  agreed  upon,  was  changed  to  meet  Mr. 
Phelps's  view.  I  was  at  several  of  Mr.  Phelps's  dinners. 
They  were  remarkable  gatherings  of  the  best  in  almost 
every  department  of  English  life. 

At  one  of  his  dinners  I  had  a  delightful  talk  with 
Browning,  the  poet.  Browning  told  me  that  as  a  young 
man  he  was  several  times  a  guest  at  the  famous  break 
fasts  of  the  poet  and  banker,  Samuel  Rogers.  Rogers, 
he  said,  was  most  arbitrary  at  these  breakfasts  with  his 
guests,  and  rebuked  him  severely  for  venturing  beyond 
the  limits  within  which  he  thought  a  young  poet  should 
be  confined. 

Mr.  Browning  said  that  nothing  gratified  him  so  much 
as  the  popularity  of  his  works  in  the  United  States.  He 
was  especially  pleased  and  also  embarrassed  by  our 
Browning  societies,  of  which  there  seemed  to  be  a  great 
many  over  here.  They  sent  him  papers  which  were  read 
by  members  of  the  societies,  interpreting  his  poems. 
These  American  friends  discovered  meanings  which  had 
never  occurred  to  him,  and  were  to  him  an  entirely  novel 
view  of  his  own  productions.  He  also  mentioned  that 


194  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

every  one  sent  him  presents  and  souvenirs,  all  of  them 
as  appreciations  and  some  as  suggestions  and  help. 
Among  these  were  several  cases  of  American  wine.  He 
appreciated  the  purpose  of  the  gifts,  but  the  fluid  did  not 
appeal  to  him. 

He  told  me  he  was  a  guest  at  one  time  at  the  dinners 
given  to  the  Shah  of  Persia.  This  monarch  was  a  bar 
barian,  but  the  British  Foreign  Office  had  asked  and  ex 
tended  to  him  every  possible  courtesy,  because  of  the 
struggle  then  going  on  as  to  whether  Great  Britain  or 
France  or  Russia  should  have  the  better  part  of  Persia. 
France  and  Russia  had  entertained  him  with  lavish  mili 
tary  displays  and  other  governmental  functions,  which  a 
democratic  country  like  Great  Britain  could  not  dupli 
cate.  So  the  Foreign  Office  asked  all  who  had  great 
houses  in  London  or  in  the  country,  and  were  lavish 
entertainers,  to  do  everything  they  could  for  the  Shah. 

Browning  was  present  at  a  great  dinner  given  for  the 
Shah  at  Stafford  House,  the  home  of  the  Duke  of  Suther 
land,  and  the  finest  palace  in  London.  Every  guest  was 
asked,  in  order  to  impress  the  Shah,  to  come  in  all  the 
decorations  to  which  they  were  entitled.  The  result  was 
that  the  peers  came  in  their  robes,  which  they  otherwise 
would  not  have  thought  of  wearing  on  such  an  occasion, 
and  all  others  in  the  costumes  of  honor  significant  of  their 
rank.  Browning  said  he  had  received  a  degree  at  Oxford 
and  that  entitled  him  to  a  scarlet  cloak.  He  was  so  out 
ranked,  because  the  guests  were  placed  according  to  rank, 
that  he  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  table.  The  Shah  said  to 
his  host:  "Who  is  that  distinguished  gentleman  in  the 
scarlet  cloak  at  the  other  end  of  the  table?"  The  host 
answered:  "That  is  one  of  our  greatest  poets."  "That 
is  no  place  for  a  poet,"  remarked  the  Shah;  "bring  him 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         195 

up  here  and  let  him  sit  next  to  me."  So  at  the  royal 
command  the  poet  took  the  seat  of  honor.  The  Shah 
said  to  Browning:  "I  am  mighty  glad  to  have  you  near 
me,  for  I  am  a  poet  myself." 

It  was  at  this  dinner  that  Browning  heard  the  Shah 
say  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  sat  at  the  right  of  the 
Shah:  "This  is  a  wonderful  palace.  Is  it  royal?"  The 
Prince  answered:  "No,  it  belongs  to  one  of  our  great 
noblemen,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland."  "Well,"  said  the 
Shah,  "let  me  give  you  a  point.  When  one  of  my  noble 
men  or  subjects  gets  rich  enough  to  own  a  palace  like 
this,  I  cut  off  his  head  and  take  his  fortune." 

A  very  beautiful  English  lady  told  me  that  she  was  at 
Ferdinand  Rothschild's,  where  the  Shah  was  being  enter 
tained.  In  order  to  minimize  his  acquisitive  talents,  the 
wonderful  treasures  of  Mr.  Rothschild's  house  had  been 
hidden.  The  Shah  asked  for  an  introduction  to  this 
lady  and  said  to  her:  "You  are  the  most  beautiful  woman 
I  have  seen  since  I  have  been  in  England.  I  must  take 
you  home  with  me."  "But,"  she  said,  "Your  Majesty, 
I  am  married."  "Well,"  he  replied,  "bring  your  hus 
band  along.  When  we  get  to  Teheran,  my  capital,  I 
will  take  care  of  him." 

Mr.  Phelps's  talent  as  a  speaker  was  quite  unknown 
to  his  countrymen  before  he  went  abroad.  While  he  was 
a  minister  he  made  several  notable  addresses,  which 
aroused  a  great  deal  of  interest  and  admiration  in  Great 
Britain.  He  was  equally  happy  in  formal  orations  and 
in  the  field  of  after-dinner  speeches.  Mrs.  Phelps  had 
such  a  phenomenal  success  socially  that,  when  her  hus 
band  was  recalled  and  they  left  England,  the  ladies  of 
both  the  great  parties  united,  and  through  Lady  Rose- 
bery,  the  leader  of  the  Liberal,  and  Lady  Salisbury,  of 


196  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  Conservative,  women,  paid  her  a  very  unusual  and 
complimentary  tribute. 

During  John  Hay's  term  as  United  States  minister  to 
Great  Britain  my  visits  to  England  were1  very  delightful. 
Hay  was  one  of  the  most  charming  men  in  public  life  of 
his  period.  He  had  won  great  success  in  journalism,  as 
an  author,  and  in  public  service.  At  his  house  in  Lon 
don  one  would  meet  almost  everybody  worth  while  in 
English  literary,  public,  and  social  life. 

In  the  hours  of  conversation  with  him,  when  I  was 
posting  him  on  the  latest  developments  in  America,  his 
comments  upon  the  leading  characters  of  the  time  were 
most  racy  and  witty.  Many  of  them  would  have  em 
balmed  a  statesman,  if  the  epigram  had  been  preserved, 
like  a  fly  in  amber.  He  had  officially  a  very  difficult 
task  during  the  Spanish  War.  The  sympathies  of  all 
European  governments  were  with  Spain.  This  was  espe 
cially  true  of  the  Kaiser  and  the  German  Government. 
It  was  Mr.  Hay's  task  to  keep  Great  Britain  neutral  and 
prevent  her  joining  the  general  alliance  to  help  Spain, 
which  some  of  the  continental  governments  were  fo 
menting. 

Happily,  Mr.  Balfour,  the  British  foreign  minister,  was 
cordially  and  openly  our  friend.  He  prevented  this  com 
bination  against  the  United  States. 

During  part  of  my  term  as  a  senator  John  Hay  was 
secretary  of  state.  To  visit  his  office  and  have  a  discus 
sion  on  current  affairs  was  an  event  to  be  remembered. 
He  made  a  prediction,  which  was  the  result  of  his  own 
difficulties  with  the  Senate,  that  on  account  of  the  two- 
thirds  majority  necessary  for  the  ratification  of  a  treaty, 
no  important  treaty  sent  to  the  Senate  by  the  president 
would  ever  again  be  ratified.  Happily  this  gloomy  view 
has  not  turned  out  to  be  entirely  correct. 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         197 

Mr.  Hay  saved  China,  in  the  settlement  of  the  indem 
nities  arising  out  of  the  Boxer  trouble,  from  the  greed  of 
the  great  powers  of  Europe.  One  of  his  greatest  achieve 
ments  was  in  proclaiming  the  open  door  for  China  and 
securing  the  acquiescence  of  the  great  powers.  It  was  a 
bluff  on  his  part,  because  he  never  could  have  had  the 
active  support  of  the  United  States,  but  he  made  his 
proposition  with  a  confidence  which  carried  the  belief 
that  he  had  no  doubt  on  that  subject.  He  was  fortu 
nately  dealing  with  governments  who  did  not  under 
stand  the  United  States  and  do  not  now.  With  them, 
when  a  foreign  minister  makes  a  serious  statement  of 
policy,  it  is  understood  that  he  has  behind  him  the  whole 
military,  naval,  and  financial  support  of  his  govern 
ment.  But  with  us  it  is  a  long  road  and  a  very  rocky 
one,  before  action  so  serious,  with  consequences  so  great, 
can  receive  the  approval  of  the  war-making  power  in 
Congress. 

I  called  on  Hay  one  morning  just  as  Cassini,  the  Rus 
sian  ambassador,  was  leaving.  Cassini  was  one  of  the 
shrewdest  and  ablest  of  diplomats  in  the  Russian  ser 
vice.  It  was  said  that  for  twelve  years  he  had  got  the 
better  of  all  the  delegations  at  Pekin  and  controlled  that 
extraordinary  ruler  of  China,  the  dowager  queen.  Cas 
sini  told  me  that  from  his  intimate  associations  with  her 
he  had  formed  the  opinion  that  she  was  quite  equal  to 
Catherine  of  Russia,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  greatest 
woman  sovereign  who  ever  lived. 

Hay  said  to  me:  "I  have  just  had  a  very  long  and  very 
remarkable  discussion  with  Cassini.  He  is  a  revelation 
in  the  way  of  secret  diplomacy.  He  brought  to  me  the 
voluminous  instructions  to  him  of  his  government  on 
our  open-door  policy.  After  we  had  gone  over  them 


198  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

carefully,  he  closed  his  portfolio  and,  pushing  it  aside, 
said:  'Now,  Mr.  Secretary,  listen  to  Cassini.'  He  im 
mediately  presented  an  exactly  opposite  policy  from  the 
one  in  the  instructions,  and  a  policy  entirely  favorable  to 
us,  and  said:  'That  is  what  my  government  will  do.'" 
It  was  a  great  loss  to  Russian  diplomacy  when  he  died 
so  early. 

As  senator  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  bring  about  the 
appointment  of  Whitelaw  Reid  as  ambassador  to  Great 
Britain.  He  and  I  had  been  friends  ever  since  his  be 
ginning  in  journalism  in  New  York  many  years  before. 
Reid  was  then  the  owner  and  editor  of  the  New  York 
Tribune,  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  journalists  in  the 
country.  He  was  also  an  excellent  public  speaker.  His 
long  and  intimate  contact  with  public  affairs  and  inti 
macy  with  public  men  ideally  fitted  him  for  the  ap 
pointment.  He  had  already  served  with  great  credit  as 
ambassador  to  France. 

The  compensation  of  our  representatives  abroad 
always  has  been  and  still  is  entirely  inadequate  to  enable 
them  to  maintain,  in  comparison  with  the  representa 
tives  of  other  governments,  the  dignity  of  their  own 
country.  AH  the  other  great  powers  at  the  principal 
capitals  maintain  fine  residences  for  their  ambassadors, 
which  also  is  the  embassy.  Our  Congress,  except  within 
the  last  few  years,  has  always  refused  to  make  this  pro 
vision.  The  salary  which  we  pay  is  scarcely  ever  more 
than  one-third  the  amount  paid  by  European  govern 
ments  in  similar  service. 

I  worked  hard  while  in  the  Senate  to  improve  this 
situation  because  of  my  intimate  knowledge  of  the  ques 
tion.  When  I  first  began  the  effort  I  found  there  was  a 
very  strong  belief  that  the  whole  foreign  service  was  an 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         199 

unnecessary  expense.  When  Mr.  Roosevelt  first  became 
president,  and  I  had  to  see  him  frequently  about  diplo 
matic  appointments,  I  learned  that  this  was  his  view. 
He  said  to  me:  "This  foreign  business  of  the  govern 
ment,  now  that  the  cable  is  perfected,  can  be  carried  on 
between  our  State  Department  and  the  chancellery  of 
any  government  in  the  world.  Nevertheless,  I  am  in 
favor  of  keeping  up  the  diplomatic  service.  All  the  old 
nations  have  various  methods  of  rewarding  distinguished 
public  servants.  The  only  one  we  have  is  the  diplomatic 
service.  So  when  I  appoint  a  man  ambassador  or  minis 
ter,  I  believe  that  I  am  giving  him  a  decoration,  and  the 
reason  I  change  ambassadors  and  ministers  is  that  I  want 
as  many  as  possible  to  possess  it." 

The  longer  Mr.  Roosevelt  remained  president,  and  the 
closer  he  came  to  our  foreign  relations,  the  more  he 
appreciated  the  value  of  the  personal  contact  and  inti 
mate  knowledge  on  the  spot  of  an  American  ambassador 
or  minister. 

Mr.  Reid  entertained  more  lavishly  and  hospitably 
than  any  ambassador  in  England  ever  had,  both  at  his 
London  house  and  at  his  estate  in  the  country.  He 
appreciated  the  growing  necessity  to  the  peace  of  the 
world  and  the  progress  of  civilization  of  closer  union  of 
English-speaking  peoples.  At  his  beautiful  and  delight 
ful  entertainments  Americans  came  in  contact  with  Eng 
lishmen  under  conditions  most  favorable  for  the  appre 
ciation  by  each  of  the  other.  The  charm  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid's  hospitality  was  so  genuine,  so 
cordial,  and  so  universal,  that  to  be  their  guest  was  an 
event  for  Americans  visiting  England.  There  is  no  cap 
ital  in  the  world  where  hospitality  counts  for  so  much  as 
in  London,  and  no  country  where  the  house-party  brings 


200  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

people  together  under  such  favorable  conditions.  Both 
the  city  and  the  country  homes  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reid 
were  universities  of  international  good-feeling.  Mr. 
Reid,  on  the  official  side,  admirably  represented  his 
country  and  had  the  most  intimate  relations  with  the 
governing  powers  of  Great  Britain. 

I  recall  with  the  keenest  pleasure  how  much  my  old 
friend,  Joseph  H.  Choate,  did  to  make  each  one  of  my 
visits  to  London  during  his  term  full  of  the  most  charm 
ing  and  valuable  recollections.  His  dinners  felt  the 
magnetism  of  his  presence,  and  he  showed  especial  skill 
in  having,  to  meet  his  American  guests,  just  the  famous 
men  in  London  life  whom  the  American  desired  to  know. 

Choate  was  a  fine  conversationalist,  a  wit  and  a 
humorist  of  a  high  order.  His  audacity  won  great  tri 
umphs,  but  if  exercised  by  a  man  less  endowed  would 
have  brought  him  continuously  into  trouble.  He  had 
the  faculty,  the  art,  of  so  directing  conversation  that  at 
his  entertainments  everybody  had  a  good  time,  and  an 
invitation  always  was  highly  prized.  He  was  appreciated 
most  highly  by  the  English  bench  and  bar.  They  recog 
nized  him  as  the  leader  of  his  profession  in  the  United 
States.  They  elected  him  a  Bencher  of  the  Middle  Tem 
ple,  the  first  American  to  receive  that  honor  after  an 
interval  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Choate' s  wit 
ticisms  and  repartees  became  the  social  currency  of  din 
ner-tables  in  London  and  week-end  parties  in  the 
country. 

Choate  paid  little  attention  to  conventionalities,  which 
count  for  so  much  and  are  so  rigidly  enforced,  especially 
in  royal  circles.  I  had  frequently  been  at  receptions, 
garden-parties,  and  other  entertainments  at  Buckingham 
Palace  in  the  time  of  Queen  Victoria  and  also  of  King 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         201 

Edward.  At  an  evening  reception  the  diplomats  repre 
senting  all  the  countries  in  the  world  stand  in  a  solemn 
row,  according  to  rank  and  length  of  service.  They  are 
covered  with  decorations  and  gold  lace.  The  weight  of 
the  gold  lace  on  some  of  the  uniforms  of  the  minor 
powers  is  as  great  as  if  it  were  a  coat  of  armor.  Mr. 
Choate,  under  regulations  of  our  diplomatic  service, 
could  only  appear  in  an  ordinary  dress  suit. 

While  the  diplomats  stand  in  solemn  array,  the  king 
and  queen  go  along  the  line  and  greet  each  one  with 
appropriate  remarks.  Nobody  but  an  ambassador  and 
minister  gets  into  that  brilliant  circle.  On  one  occasion 
Mr.  Choate  saw  me  standing  with  the  other  guests  out 
side  the  charmed  circle  and  immediately  left  the  diplo 
mats,  came  to  me,  and  said:  "I  am  sure  you  would  like 
to  have  a  talk  with  the  queen."  He  went  up  to  Her 
Majesty,  stated  the  case  and  who  I  was,  and  the  propo 
sition  was  most  graciously  received.  I  think  the  royal 
ties  were  pleased  to  have  a  break  in  the  formal  etiquette. 
Mr.  Choate  treated  the  occasion,  so  far  as  I  was  con 
cerned,  as  if  it  had  been  a  reception  in  New  York  or 
Salem,  and  a  distinguished  guest  wanted  to  meet  the 
hosts.  The  gold-laced  and  bejewelled  and  highly  deco 
rated  diplomatic  circle  was  paralyzed. 

Mr.  Choate's  delightful  personality  and  original  con 
versational  powers  made  him  a  favorite  guest  every 
where,  but  he  also  carried  to  the  platform  the  distinction 
which  had  won  for  him  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
finest  orators  in  the  United  States. 

Choate  asked  at  one  time  when  I  was  almost  nightly 
making  speeches  at  some  entertainment:  "How  do  you 
do  it?"  I  told  him  I  was  risking  whatever  reputation  I 
had  on  account  of  very  limited  preparation,  that  I  did 


202  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

not  let  these  speeches  interfere  at  all  with  my  business, 
but  that  they  were  all  prepared  after  I  had  arrived  home 
from  my  office  late  in  the  afternoon.  Sometimes  they 
came  easy,  and  I  reached  the  dinner  in  time;  at  other 
times  they  were  more  difficult,  and  I  did  not  arrive  till 
the  speaking  had  begun.  Then  he  said:  "I  enjoy  mak 
ing  these  after-dinner  addresses  more  than  any  other 
work.  It  is  a  perfect  delight  for  me  to  speak  to  such  an 
audience,  but  I  have  not  the  gift  of  quick  and  easy  prep 
aration.  I  accept  comparatively  few  of  the  constant  in 
vitations  I  receive,  because  when  I  have  to  make  such  a 
speech  I  take  a  corner  in  the  car  in  the  morning  going 
to  my  office,  exclude  all  the  intruding  public  with  a 
newspaper  and  think  all  the  way  down.  I  continue  the 
same  process  on  my  way  home  in  the  evening,  and  it 
takes  about  three  days  of  this  absorption  and  exclusive- 
ness,  with  some  time  in  the  evenings,  to  get  an  address 
with  which  I  am  satisfied." 

The  delicious  humor  of  these  efforts  of  Mr.  Choate  and 
the  wonderful  way  in  which  he  could  expose  a  current 
delusion,  or  what  he  thought  was  one,  and  produce  an 
impression  not  only  on  his  audience  but  on  the  whole 
community,  when  his  speech  was  printed  in  the  news 
papers,  was  a  kind  of  effort  which  necessarily  required 
preparation.  In  all  the  many  times  I  heard  him,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  he  never  had  a  failure  and  some 
times  made  a  sensation. 

Among  the  many  interesting  characters  whom  I  met 
on  shipboard  was  Emory  Storrs,  a  famous  Chicago  law 
yer.  Storrs  was  a  genius  of  rare  talent  as  an  advocator. 
He  also  on  occasions  would  make  a  most  successful 
speech,  but  his  efforts  were  unequal.  At  one  session  of 
the  National  Bar  Association  he  carried  off  all  the 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         203 

honors  at  their  banquet.  Of  course,  they  wanted  him 
the  next  year,  but  then  he  failed  entirely  to  meet  their 
expectations.  Storrs  was  one  of  the  most  successful  ad 
vocates  at  the  criminal  bar,  especially  in  murder  cases. 
He  rarely  failed  to  get  an  acquittal  for  his  client.  He 
told  me  many  interesting  stories  of  his  experiences.  He 
had  a  wide  circuit,  owing  to  his  reputation,  and  tried  cases 
far  distant  from  home. 

I  remember  one  of  his  experiences  in  an  out-of-the-way 
county  of  Arkansas.  The  hotel  where  they  all  stopped 
was  very  primitive,  and  he  had  the  same  table  with  the 
judge.  The  most  attractive  offer  for  breakfast  by  the 
landlady  was  buckwheat-cakes.  She  appeared  with  a 
jug  of  molasses  and  said  to  the  judge:  "Will  you  have  a 
trickle  or  a  dab?"  The  judge  answered:  "A  dab."  She 
then  ran  her  fingers  around  the  jug  and  slapped  a  huge 
amount  of  molasses  on  the  judge's  cakes.  Storrs  said: 
"  I  think  I  prefer  a  trickle."  Whereupon  she  dipped  her 
fingers  again  in  the  jug  and  let  the  drops  fall  from  them 
on  Storrs's  cakes.  The  landlady  was  disappointed  be 
cause  her  cakes  were  unpopular  with  such  distinguished 
gentlemen. 

Once  Storrs  was  going  abroad  on  the  same  ship  with 
me  on  a  sort  of  semi-diplomatic  mission.  He  was  deeply 
read  in  English  literature  and,  as  far  as  a  stranger  could 
be,  familiar  with  the  places  made  famous  in  English  and 
foreign  classics. 

He  was  one  of  the  factors,  as  chairman  of  the  Illinois 
delegation,  of  the  conditions  which  made  possible  the 
nomination  of  Garfield  and  Arthur.  In  the  following 
presidential  campaign  he  took  an  active  and  very  useful 
part.  Then  he  brought  all  the  influences  that  he  could 
use,  and  they  were  many,  to  bear  upon  President  Arthur 


204  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

to  make  him  attorney-general.  Arthur  was  a  strict  for 
malist  and  could  not  tolerate  the  thought  of  having 
such  an  eccentric  genius  in  his  Cabinet.  Storrs  was  not 
only  disappointed  but  hurt  that  Arthur  declined  to  ap 
point  him. 

To  make  him  happy  his  rich  clients — and  he  had  many 
of  them — raised  a  handsome  purse  and  urged  him  to 
make  a  European  trip.  Then  the  president  added  to  the 
pleasure  of  his  journey  by  giving  him  an  appointment  as 
a  sort  of  roving  diplomat,  with  special  duties  relating  to 
the  acute  trouble  then  existing  in  regard  to  the  admis 
sion  of  American  cattle  into  Great  Britain.  They  were 
barred  because  of  a  supposed  infectious  disease. 

Storrs's  weakness  was  neckties.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  a  new  one  for  every 
day.  He  would  come  on  deck  every  morning,  display 
his  fresh  necktie,  and  receive  a  compliment  upon  its 
color  and  appropriateness,  and  then  take  from  his  pocket 
a  huge  water-proof  envelope.  From  this  he  would  unroll 
his  parchment  appointment  as  a  diplomat,  and  the  let 
ters  he  had  to  almost  every  one  of  distinction  in  Europe. 
On  the  last  day,  going  through  the  same  ceremony,  he 
said  to  me:  "I  am  not  showing  you  these  things  out  of 
vanity,  but  to  impress  upon  you  the  one  thing  I  most 
want  to  accomplish  in  London.  I  desire  to  compel 
James  Russell  Lowell,  our  minister,  to  give  me  a  dinner." 

Probably  no  man  in  the  world  could  be  selected  so 
antipathetic  to  Lowell  as  Emory  Storrs.  Mr.  Lowell 
told  me  that  he  was  annoyed  that  the  president  should 
have  sent  an  interloper  to  meddle  with  negotiations 
which  he  had  in  successful  progress  to  a  satisfactory 
conclusion.  So  he  invited  Storrs  to  dinner,  and  then 
Storrs  took  no  further  interest  in  his  diplomatic  mission. 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         205 

Mr.  Lowell  told  me  that  he  asked  Storrs  to  name  who 
ever  he  wanted  to  invite.  He  supposed  from  his  general 
analysis  of  the  man  that  Storrs  would  want  the  entire 
royal  family.  He  was  delighted  to  find  that  the  selection 
was  confined  entirely  to  authors,  artists,  and  scientists. 

On  my  return  trip  Mr.  Storrs  was  again  a  fellow, 
passenger.  He  was  very  enthusiastic  over  the  places  of 
historic  interest  he  had  visited,  and  eloquent  and  graphic 
in  descriptions  of  them  and  of  his  own  intense  feelings 
when  he  came  in  contact  with  things  he  had  dreamed  of 
most  of  his  life. 

"But,"  he  said,  "I  will  tell  you  of  my  greatest  adven 
ture.  I  was  in  the  picture-gallery  at  Dresden,  and  in 
that  small  room  where  hangs  Raphael's  'Madonna/  I 
was  standing  before  this  wonderful  masterpiece  of  divine 
inspiration  when  I  felt  the  room  crowded.  I  discovered 
that  the  visitors  were  all  Americans  and  all  looking  at 
me.  I  said  to  them:  'Ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  are 
here  in  the  presence  of  the  most  wonderful  picture  ever 
painted.  If  you  study  it,  you  can  see  that  there  is  little 
doubt  but  with  all  his  genius  Raphael  in  this  work  had 
inspiration  from  above,  and  yet  you,  as  Americans,  in 
stead  of  availing  yourselves  of  the  rarest  of  opportuni 
ties,  have  your  eyes  bent  on  me.  I  am  only  a  Chicago 
lawyer  wearing  a  Chicago-made  suit  of  clothes.' 

"A  gentleman  stepped  forward  and  said:  'Mr.  Storrs, 
on  behalf  of  your  countrymen  and  countrywomen  pres 
ent,  I  wish  to  say  that  you  are  of  more  interest  to  us 
than  all  the  works  of  Raphael  put  together,  because  we 
understand  that  James  Russell  Lowell,  United  States 
Minister  to  Great  Britain,  gave  you  a  dinner.' ' 

One  other  incident  in  my  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Storrs  was  original.  I  heard  the  story  of  it  both  from 


206  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

him  and  Lord  Coleridge,  and  they  did  not  differ  mate 
rially.  Lord  Coleridge,  Chief  Justice  of  England,  was  a 
most  welcome  visitor  when  he  came  to  the  United  States. 
He  received  invitations  from  the  State  Bar  Associations 
everywhere  to  accept  their  hospitality.  I  conducted  him 
on  part  of  his  trip  and  found  him  one  of  the  most  able 
and  delightful  of  men.  He  was  a  very  fine  speaker,  more 
in  our  way  than  the  English,  and  made  a  first-class  im 
pression  upon  all  the  audiences  he  addressed. 

At  Chicago  Lord  Coleridge  was  entertained  by  the  Bar 
Association  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Storrs,  who  was  an 
eminent  member  of  the  bar  of  that  State,  came  to  him 
and  said:  "Now,  Lord  Coleridge,  you  have  been  enter 
tained  by  the  Bar  Association.  I  want  you  to  know  the 
real  men  of  the  West,  the  captains  of  industry  who  have 
created  this  city,  built  our  railroads,  and  made  the  Great 
West  what  it  is."  Coleridge  replied  that  he  did  not 
want  to  go  outside  bar  associations,  and  he  could  not 
think  of  making  another  speech  in  Chicago.  Storrs 
assured  him  it  would  be  purely  a  private  affair  and  no 
speeches  permitted. 

The  dinner  was  very  late,  but  when  they  sat  down 
Lord  Coleridge  noticed  a  distinguished-looking  gentle 
man,  instead  of  eating  his  dinner,  correcting  a  manu 
script.  He  said:  "Mr.  Storrs,  I  understood  there  was  to 
be  no  speaking."  "Well,"  said  Storrs,  "you  can't  get 
Americans  together  unless  some  one  takes  the  floor. 
That  man  with  the  manuscript  is  General  and  Senator 
John  A.  Logan,  one  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens." 
Just  then  a  reporter  came  up  to  Storrs  and  said:  "Mr. 
Storrs,  we  have  the  slips  of  your  speech  in  our  office,  and 
it  is  now  set  up  with  the  laughter  and  applause  in  their 
proper  places.  The  editor  sent  me  up  to  see  if  you 


AMBASSADORS  AND  MINISTERS         207 

wanted  to  add  anything."     Of  course  Lord  Coleridge 
was  in  for  it  and  had  to  make  another  speech. 

The  cause  of  the  lateness  of  the  dinner  is  the  most 
original  incident  that  I  know  of  in  historic  banquets. 
Storrs  received  great  fees  and  had  a  large  income,  but 
was  very  careless  about  his  business  matters.  One  of 
his  creditors  obtained  a  judgment  against  him.  The 
lawyer  for  this  creditor  was  a  guest  at  this  dinner  and 
asked  the  landlord  of  the  hotel  if  the  dinner  had  been 
paid  for  in  advance.  The  landlord  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  and  so  the  lawyer  telephoned  to  the  sheriff, 
and  had  the  dinner  levied  upon.  The  sheriff  refused  to 
allow  it  to  be  served  until  the  judgment  was  satisfied. 
There  were  at  least  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars  repre 
sented  among  the  guests,  packers,  elevator  men,  real- 
estate  operators,  and  grain  operators,  but  millionaires 
and  multimillionaires  in  dress  suits  at  a  banquet  never 
have  any  money  on  their  persons.  So  it  was  an  hour  or 
more  before  the  sheriff  was  satisfied.  Lord  Coleridge 
was  intensely  amused  and  related  the  adventure  with 
great  glee. 

Several  years  afterwards  Lord  Coleridge  had  some 
difficulty  in  his  family  which  came  into  the  courts  of 
England.  I  do  not  remember  just  what  it  was  all  about, 
but  Storrs,  in  reading  the  gossip  which  came  across  the 
cable,  decided  against  the  chief  justice.  Lord  Coleridge 
told  me  he  received  from  Storrs  a  cable  reading  some 
thing  like  this:  "I  have  seen  in  our  papers  about  your 
attitude  in  the  suit  now  pending.  I  therefore  inform  you 
that  as  far  as  possible  I  withdraw  the  courtesies  which  I 
extended  to  you  in  Chicago."  In  this  unique  way  Storrs 
cancelled  the  dinner  which  was  given  and  seized  by  the 
sheriff  years  ago. 


208  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

I  met  Storrs  many  times,  and  he  was  always  not  only 
charming  but  fascinating.  He  was  very  witty,  full  of 
anecdotes,  and  told  a  story  with  dramatic  effect.  Ex 
cept  for  his  eccentricities  he  might  have  taken  the  high 
est  place  in  his  profession.  As  it  was,  he  acquired  such 
fame  that  an  admirer  has  written  a  very  good  biography 
of  him. 


XVII 

GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE 

There  is  nothing  more  interesting  than  to  see  the  be 
ginning  of  a  controversy  which  makes  history.  It  is  my 
good  fortune  to  have  been  either  a  spectator  or  a  partici 
pant  on  several  occasions. 

William  M.  Tweed  was  at  the  height  of  his  power. 
He  was  the  master  of  New  York  City,  and  controlled  the 
legislature  of  the  State.  The  rapid  growth  and  expan 
sion  of  New  York  City  had  necessitated  a  new  charter, 
or  very  radical  improvements  in  the  existing  one. 
Tweed,  as  chairman  of  the  Senate  committee  on  cities, 
had  staged  a  large  and  spectacular  hearing  at  the  State 
Capitol  at  Albany.  It  was  attended  by  a  large  body  of 
representative  citizens  from  the  metropolis.  Some  spoke 
for  civic  and  commercial  bodies,  and  there  were  also 
other  prominent  men  who  were  interested.  Everybody 
interested  in  public  affairs  in  Albany  at  the  time  at 
tended.  Not  only  was  there  a  large  gathering  of  legis 
lators,  but  there  were  also  in  the  audience  judges,  law 
yers,  and  politicians  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 

After  hearing  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
various  reform  organizations,  Mr.  Samuel  J.  Tilden  came 
forward  with  a  complete  charter.  It  was  soon  evident 
that  he  was  better  prepared  and  informed  on  the  subject 
than  any  one  present.  He  knew  intimately  the  weak 
nesses  of  the  present  charter,  and  had  thought  out  with 
great  care  and  wisdom  what  was  needed  in  new  legis 
lation. 

209 


210  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

From  the  contemptuous  way  in  which  Senator  Tweed 
treated  Mr.  Tilden,  scouted  his  plans,  and  ridiculed  his 
propositions,  it  was  evident  that  the  whole  scheme  had 
been  staged  as  a  State-wide  spectacle  to  humiliate  and 
end  the  political  career  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden. 

In  answer  to  Tilden's  protest  against  this  treatment, 
Tweed  loudly  informed  him  that  he  represented  no  one 
but  himself,  that  he  had  neither  influence  nor  standing 
in  the  city,  that  he  was  an  intermeddler  with  things  that 
did  not  concern  him,  and  a  general  nuisance. 

Mr.  Tilden  turned  ashy  white,  and  showed  evidences 
of  suppressed  rage  and  vindictiveness  more  intense  than 
I  ever  saw  in  any  one  before,  and  abruptly  left  the  hear 
ing. 

I  knew  Mr.  Tilden  very  well,  and  from  contact  with 
him  in  railroad  matters  had  formed  a  high  opinion  of  his 
ability  and  acquirements.  He  had  a  keen,  analytic 
mind,  tireless  industry,  and  a  faculty  for  clarifying  diffi 
culties  and  untangling  apparently  impossible  problems 
to  a  degree  that  amounted  to  genius. 

In  reference  to  what  had  happened,  I  said  to  a  friend: 
"Mr.  Tweed  must  be  very  confident  of  his  position  and 
of  his  record,  for  he  has  deliberately  defied  and  invited 
the  attacks  of  a  relentless  and  merciless  opponent  by 
every  insult  which  could  wound  the  pride  and  incite  the 
hatred  of  the  man  so  ridiculed  and  abused.  Mr.  Tilden 
is  a  great  lawyer.  He  has  made  a  phenomenal  success 
financially,  he  has  powerful  associates  in  financial  and 
business  circles,  and  is  master  of  his  time  for  any  purpose 
to  which  he  chooses  to  apply  it." 

It  was  not  long  before  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and 
exhaustive  investigations  ever  conducted  by  an  individ 
ual  into  public  records,  books,  ledgers,  bank-accounts, 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     211 

and  contracts,  revealed  to  the  public  the  whole  system  of 
governing  the  city.  This  master  mind  solved  the  prob 
lems  so  that  they  were  plain  to  the  average  citizen  as  the 
simplest  sum  in  arithmetic,  or  that  two  and  two  make 
four. 

The  result  was  the  destruction  of  the  power  of  Tweed 
and  his  associates,  of  their  prosecution  and  conviction, 
and  of  the  elevation  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  to  a  State  and 
national  figure  of  the  first  importance.  He  not  only  be 
came  in  the  public  mind  a  leader  of  reforms  in  govern 
ment,  municipal,  State,  and  national,  but  embodied  in 
the  popular  imagination  reform  itself. 

Mr.  Tilden  carried  this  same  indefatigable  industry 
and  power  of  organization  into  a  canvass  for  governor. 
His  agencies  reached  not  only  the  counties  and  towns, 
but  the  election  districts  of  the  State.  He  called  into 
existence  a  new  power  in  politics — the  young  men.  The 
old  leaders  were  generally  against  him,  but  he  discovered 
in  every  locality  ambitious,  resourceful,  and  courageous 
youngsters  and  made  them  his  lieutenants.  This  unpar 
alleled  preparation  made  him  the  master  of  his  party 
and  the  governor  of  the  State. 

After  the  election  he  invited  me  to  come  and  see  him 
at  the  Executive  Mansion  in  Albany,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  conversation  he  said:  "In  your  speeches  in  the 
campaign  against  me  you  were  absolutely  fair,  and  as  a 
fair  and  open-minded  opponent  I  want  to  have  a  frank 
talk.  I  am  governor  of  the  State,  elected  upon  an  issue 
which  is  purely  local.  The  Democratic  party  is  at  pres 
ent  without  principles  or  any  definite  issue  on  which  to 
appeal  to  the  public.  If  I  am  to  continue  in  power  we 
must  find  an  issue.  The  Erie  Canal  is  not  only  a  State 
affair,  but  a  national  one.  Its  early  construction  opened 


212  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

the  great  Northwest,  and  it  was  for  years  the  only  out 
let  to  the  seaboard.  The  public  not  only  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  but  in  the  West,  believes  that  there  has  been, 
and  is,  corruption  in  the  construction  and  management 
of  the  Canal.  This  great  waterway  requires  continuing 
contracts  for  continuing  repairs,  and  the  people  believe 
that  these  contracts  are  given  to  favorites,  and  that  the 
work  is  either  not  performed  at  all  or  is  badly  done.  I 
believe  that  matter  ought  to  be  looked  into  and  the  re 
sult  will  largely  justify  the  suspicion  prevalent  in  the 
public  mind.  I  want  your  judgment  on  the  question  and 
what  will  be  the  effect  upon  me." 

I  then  frankly  answered  him:  "Governor,  there  is  no 
doubt  it  will  be  a  popular  movement,  but  you  know  that 
the  Canal  contractors  control  the  machinery  of  your 
party,  and  I  cannot  tell  what  the  effect  of  that  may  be 
upon  what  you  desire,  which  is  a  second  term." 

"Those  contractors,"  he  said,  "are  good  Democrats, 
and  their  ability  to  secure  the  contracts  depends  upon 
Democratic  supremacy.  A  prosecution  against  them  has 
been  tried  so  often  that  they  have  little  fear  of  either 
civil  or  criminal  actions,  and  I  think  they  will  accept  the 
issue  as  the  only  one  which  will  keep  their  party  in 
power." 

It  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  time  that  he  made 
the  issue  so  interesting  that  he  became  a  national  figure 
of  the  first  importance  and  afterwards  the  candidate  of 
his  party  for  President  of  the  United  States.  Not  only 
that,  but  he  so  impressed  the  people  that  popular  judg 
ment  is  still  divided  as  to  whether  or  not  he  was  right 
fully  elected  president. 

Once  I  was  coming  from  the  West  after  a  tour  of  in 
spection,  and  when  we  left  Albany  the  conductor  told 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     213 

me  that  Governor  Tilden  was  on  the  train.  I  immedi 
ately  called  and  found  him  very  uncomfortable,  because 
he  said  he  was  troubled  with  boils.  I  invited  him  into 
the  larger  compartment  which  I  had,  and  made  him  as 
comfortable  as  possible.  His  conversation  immediately 
turned  upon  the  second  term  and  he  asked  what  I,  as  a 
Republican,  thought  of  his  prospects  as  the  result  of  his 
administration.  We  had  hardly  entered  upon  the  sub 
ject  when  a  very  excited  gentleman  burst  into  the  com 
partment  and  said:  "Governor,  I  have  been  looking  for 
you  everywhere.  I  went  to  your  office  at  the  Capitol 
and  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  but  learned  you  were 
here  and  barely  caught  the  train.  You  know  who  I  am." 
(The  governor  knew  he  was  mayor  of  a  city.)  "  I  want 
to  see  you  confidentially." 

The  governor  said  to  him:  "I  have  entire  confidence 
in  my  Republican  friend  here.     You  can  trust  him.     Go 


on.'3 


I  knew  the  mayor  very  well,  and  under  ordinary  con 
ditions  he  would  have  insisted  on  the  interview  with  the 
governor  being  private  and  personal.  But  he  was  so 
excited  and  bursting  with  rage  that  he  went  right  on. 
The  mayor  fairly  shouted:  "It  is  the  station  agent  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  in  our  city  of  whom  I  com 
plain.  He  is  active  in  politics  and  controls  the  Demo 
cratic  organization  in  our  county.  He  is  working  to  pre 
vent  myself  and  my  friends  and  even  ex-Governor  Sey 
mour  from  being  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 
It  is  to  the  interest  of  our  party,  in  fact,  I  may  say,  the 
salvation  of  our  party  in  our  county  that  this  New  York 
Central  agent  be  either  removed  or  silenced,  and  I  want 
you  to  see  Mr.  Vanderbilt  on  the  subject." 

The  governor  sympathized  with  the  mayor  and  dis- 


214  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

missed  him.  Then  in  a  quizzical  way  he  asked  me:  "Do 
you  know  this  agent?" 

"Yes,"  I  answered. 

"What  do  you  think  of  him?" 

"I  know  nothing  about  his  political  activities,"  I  an 
swered,  "but  he  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  employees  of 
the  company  in  the  State." 

"Well,"  said  the  governor,  "I  am  glad  to  hear  you 
say  so.  He  was  down  to  see  me  the  other  night;  in  fact, 
I  sent  for  him,  and  I  formed  a  very  high  opinion  of  his 
judgment  and  ability." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  governor  had  selected  him  to 
accomplish  this  very  result  which  the  mayor  had  said 
would  ruin  the  party  in  the  county. 

When  the  New  York  Democratic  delegation  left  the 
city  for  the  Democratic  national  convention  they  had 
engaged  a  special  train  to  leave  from  the  Grand  Central 
Station.  I  went  down  to  see  that  the  arrangements 
were  perfected  for  its  movement.  It  was  a  hilarious 
crowd,  and  the  sides  of  the  cars  were  strung  with  Tilden 
banners. 

Mr.  Tilden  was  there  also  to  see  them  off.  After 
bidding  good-by  to  the  leaders,  and  with  a  whispered 
conference  with  each,  the  mass  of  delegates  and  espe 
cially  reporters,  of  whom  there  was  a  crowd,  wished  to 
engage  him  in  conversation.  He  spied  me  and  imme 
diately  hurried  me  into  one  of  the  alcoves,  apparently 
for  a  private  conversation.  The  crowd,  of  course,  gath 
ered  around,  anxious  to  know  what  it  was  all  about.  He 
asked  me  a  few  questions  about  the  health  of  my  family 
and  then  added:  "Don't  leave  me.  I  want  to  avoid  all 
these  people,  and  we  will  talk  until  the  train  is  off  and 
the  crowd  disperses." 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     215 

Life  was  a  burden  for  me  the  rest  of  the  day  and  eve 
ning,  made  so  by  the  newspaper  men  and  Democratic 
politicians  trying  to  find  out  what  the  mysterious  chief 
had  revealed  to  me  in  the  alcove  of  the  Grand  Central. 

I  was  very  much  gratified  when  meeting  him  after  the 
fierce  battles  for  the  presidency  were  over,  to  have  him 
grasp  me  by  the  hand  and  say:  "You  were  about  the 
only  one  who  treated  me  absolutely  fairly  during  the 
campaign." 

I  love  little  incidents  about  great  men.  Mr.  Tilden 
was  intensely  human  and  a  great  man. 

Doctor  Buckley,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Methodist 
Book  Concern  in  New  York,  and  one  of  the  most  delight 
ful  of  men,  told  me  that  there  came  into  his  office  one 
day  a  Methodist  preacher  from  one  of  the  mining  dis 
tricts  of  Pennsylvania,  who  said  to  him:  "My  church 
burned  down.  We  had  no  insurance.  We  are  poor  peo 
ple,  and,  therefore,  I  have  come  to  New  York  to  raise 
money  to  rebuild  it." 

The  doctor  told  him  that  New  York  was  overrun 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  with  applicants  for  help, 
and  that  he  thought  he  would  have  great  difficulty  in 
his  undertaking. 

"Well,"  the  preacher  said,  "I  am  going  to  see  Mr. 
Tilden." 

Doctor  Buckley  could  not  persuade  him  that  his  mis 
sion  was  next  to  impossible,  and  so  this  rural  clergyman 
started  for  Gramercy  Park.  When  he  returned  he  told 
the  doctor  of  his  experience. 

"I  rang  the  bell,"  he  said,  "and  when  the  door  was 
opened  I  saw  Governor  Tilden  coming  down  the  stairs. 
I  rushed  in  and  told  him  hastily  who  I  was  before  the 
man  at  the  door  could  stop  me,  and  he  invited  me  into 


216  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

his  library.  I  stated  my  mission,  and  he  said  he  was  so 
overwhelmed  with  applications  that  he  did  not  think  he 
could  do  anything.  'But,  governor/  I  said,  'my  case 
differs  from  all  others.  My  congregation  is  composed 
of  miners,  honest,  hardworking  people.  They  have 
hitherto  been  Republicans  on  the  protection  issue,  but 
they  were  so  impressed  by  you  as  a  great  reformer  that 
they  all  voted  for  you  in  the  last  election.'  The  gov 
ernor  said:  'Tell  that  story  again.'  So  I  started  again 
to  tell  him  about  my  church,  but  he  interrupted  me,  say 
ing:  'Not  that,  but  about  the  election.'  So  I  told  him 
again  about  their  having,  on  account  of  their  admiration 
for  him  as  a  reformer,  turned  from  the  Republican  party 
and  voted  the  Democratic  ticket.  Then  the  governor 
said:  'Well,  I  think  you  have  a  most  meritorious  case, 
and  so  I  will  give  you  all  I  have.' ' 

Doctor  Buckley  interrupted  him  hastily,  saying: 
"Great  heavens,  are  you  going  to  build  a  cathedral?" 

"No,"  answered  the  clergyman;  "all  he  had  in  his 
pocket  was  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents." 

Governor  Tilden  had  many  followers  and  friends 
whose  admiration  for  him  amounted  almost  to  adora 
tion.  They  believed  him  capable  of  everything,  and 
they  were  among  the  most  intelligent  and  able  men  of 
the  country. 

John  Bigelow,  journalist,  author,  and  diplomat,  was 
always  sounding  his  greatness,  both  with  tongue  and  pen. 
Abram  S.  Hewitt  was  an  equally  enthusiastic  friend  and 
admirer.  Both  of  these  gentlemen,  the  latter  especially, 
were,  I  think,  abler  than  Mr.  Tilden,  but  did  not  have 
his  hypnotic  power. 

I  was  dining  one  night  with  Mr.  Hewitt,  whose  din 
ners  were  always  events  to  be  remembered,  when  Mr. 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     217 

Tilden  became  the  subject  of  discussion.  After  inci 
dents  illustrating  his  manifold  distinctions  had  been  nar 
rated,  Mr.  Hewitt  said  that  Mr.  Tilden  was  the  only  one 
in  America  and  outside  of  royalties  in  Europe  who  had 
some  blue-labelled  Johannisberger.  This  famous  wine 
from  the  vineyards  of  Prince  Metternich  on  the  Rhine 
was  at  that  time  reported  to  be  absorbed  by  the  royal 
families  of  Europe. 

Our  host  said:  "The  bouquet  of  this  wonderful  bever 
age  is  unusually  penetrating  and  diffusing,  and  a  proof  is 
that  one  night  at  a  dinner  in  the  summer,  with  the  win 
dows  all  open,  the  guests  noticed  this  peculiar  aroma  in 
the  air.  I  said  to  them  that  Governor  Tilden  had 
opened  a  bottle  of  his  Johannisberger." 

The  governors  residence  was  on  the  other  side  of 
Gramercy  Park  from  Mr.  Hewitt's.  The  matter  was  so 
extraordinary  that  everybody  at  the  table  went  across 
the  park,  and  when  they  were  admitted  they  found  the 
governor  in  his  library  enjoying  his  bottle  of  blue-labelled 
Johannisberger. 

When  Mr.  Tilden  was  elected  governor,  my  friend, 
General  Husted,  was  speaker  of  the  assembly,  which 
was  largely  Republican.  The  governor  asked  General 
Husted  to  come  down  in  the  evening,  because  he  wanted 
to  consult  him  about  the  improvements  and  alterations 
necessary  for  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  to  have  the 
speaker  secure  the  appropriation.  During  the  discus 
sion  the  governor  placed  before  the  speaker  a  bottle  of 
rare  whiskey,  with  the  usual  accompaniments.  In  front 
of  the  governor  was  a  bottle  of  his  Johannisberger  and  a 
small  liqueur  glass,  a  little  larger  than  a  thimble,  from 
which  the  governor  would  from  time  to  time  taste  a  drop 
of  this  rare  and  exquisite  fluid.  The  general,  after  a 


218  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

while,  could  not  restrain  his  curiosity  any  longer  and 
said:  " Governor,  what  is  that  you  are  drinking ?" 

The  governor  explained  its  value  and  the  almost  utter 
impossibility  of  securing  any. 

"Well,  governor,"  said  Speaker  Husted,  "I  never  saw 
any  before  and  I  think  I  will  try  it."  He  seized  the 
bottle,  emptied  it  in  his  goblet  and  announced  to  the 
astonished  executive  that  he  was  quite  right  in  his  esti 
mate  of  its  excellence. 

The  governor  lost  a  bottle  of  his  most  cherished  trea 
sure  but  received  from  the  Republican  legislature  all 
the  appropriation  he  desired  for  the  Executive  Mansion. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  well  the  gover 
nors  of  our  State  of  New  York,  commencing  with  Edmund 
D.  Morgan.  With  many  of  them  I  was  on  terms  of 
close  intimacy.  I  have  already  spoken  of  Governors 
Seymour,  Fenton,  Dix,  Tilden,  Cleveland,  and  Roose 
velt.  It  might  be  better  to  confine  my  memory  to  those 
who  have  joined  the  majority. 

Lucius  Robinson  was  an  excellent  executive  of  the 
business  type,  as  also  were  Alonzo  B.  Cornell  and  Levi 
P.  Morton.  Frank  S.  Black  was  in  many  ways  original. 
He  was  an  excellent  governor,  but  very  different  from 
the  usual  routine.  In  the  Spanish-American  War  he 
had  a  definite  idea  that  the  National  Guard  of  our  State 
should  not  go  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  as 
regiments,  but  as  individual  volunteers.  The  Seventh 
Regiment,  which  was  the  crack  organization  of  the 
Guard,  was  severely  criticised  because  they  did  not  vol 
unteer.  They  refused  to  go  except  as  the  Seventh  Regi 
ment,  and  their  enemies  continued  to  assail  them  as  tin 
soldiers. 

General  Louis  Fitzgerald  and  Colonel  Appleton  came 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     219 

to  me  very  much  disturbed  by  this  condition.  General 
Russell  A.  Alger,  secretary  of  war,  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  mine,  and  I  went  to  Washington  and  saw  him  and 
the  president  on  the  acute  condition  affecting  the  repu 
tation  of  the  Seventh  Regiment. 

General  Alger  said:  "We  are  about  to  make  a  des 
perate  assault  upon  the  fortifications  of  Havana.  Of 
course  there  will  be  many  casualties  and  the  fighting 
most  severe.  Will  the  Seventh  join  that  expedition?" 

The  answer  of  General  Fitzgerald  and  Colonel  Apple- 
ton  was  emphatic  that  the  Seventh  would  march  with 
full  ranks  on  the  shortest  possible  notice.  Governor 
Black  would  not  change  his  view  of  how  the  National 
Guard  should  go,  and  so  the  Seventh  was  never  called. 
It  seems  only  proper  that  I  should  make  a  record  of  this 
patriotic  proposition  made  by  this  organization. 

Governor  Black  developed  after  he  became  governor, 
and  especially  after  he  had  retired  from  office,  into  a 
very  effective  orator.  He  had  a  fine  presence  and  an 
excellent  delivery.  He  was  fond  of  preparing  epigrams, 
and  became  a  master  in  this  sort  of  literature.  When 
he  had  occasion  to  deliver  an  address,  it  would  be  almost 
wholly  made  up  of  these  detached  gems,  each  perfect  in 
itself.  The  only  other  of  our  American  orators  who  cul 
tivated  successfully  this  style  of  speech  was  Senator 
John  J.  Ingalls,  of  Kansas.  It  is  a  style  very  difficult  to 
attain  or  to  make  successful. 

David  B.  Hill  was  an  extraordinary  man  in  many 
ways.  He  was  governor  for  three  terms  and  United 
States  senator  for  one.  His  whole  life  was  politics.  He 
was  a  trained  lawyer  and  an  excellent  one,  but  his  heart 
and  soul  was  in  party  control,  winning  popular  elections, 
and  the  art  of  governing.  He  consolidated  the  rural  ele- 


220  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

ments  of  his  party  so  effectively  that  he  compelled  Tam 
many  Hall  to  submit  to  his  leadership  and  to  recognize 
him  as  its  master. 

For  many  years,  and  winning  in  every  contest,  Gov 
ernor  Hill  controlled  the  organization  and  the  policies  of 
the  Democratic  party  of  the  State  of  New  York.  In  a 
plain  way  he  was  an  effective  speaker,  but  in  no  sense  an 
orator.  He  contested  with  Cleveland  for  the  presi 
dency,  but  in  that  case  ran  against  a  stronger  and  bigger 
personality  than  he  had  ever  encountered,  and  lost.  He 
rose  far  above  the  average  and  made  his  mark  upon  the 
politics  of  his  State  and  upon  the  United  States  Senate 
while  he  was  a  member. 

Levi  P.  Morton  brought  to  the  governorship  business 
ability  which  had  made  him  one  of  the  great  merchants 
and  foremost  bankers.  As  Governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  United  States  Minister  to  France,  Congressman, 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  he  filled  every 
position  with  grace,  dignity,  and  ability.  A  lovable  per 
sonality  made  him  most  popular. 

Roswell  P.  Flower,  after  a  successful  career  as  a 
banker,  developed  political  ambitions.  He  had  a  fac 
ulty  of  making  friends,  and  had  hosts  of  them.  He  was 
congressman  and  then  governor.  While  the  Democratic 
organization  was  hostile  to  him,  he  was  of  the  Mark 
Hanna  type  and  carried  his  successful  business  methods 
into  the  canvass  for  the  nomination  and  the  campaign 
for  the  election  and  was  successful. 

Passing  through  Albany  while  he  was  governor,  I 
stopped  over  to  pay  my  respects.  I  was  very  fond  of 
him  personally.  When  I  rang  the  door-bell  of  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion  and  inquired  for  the  governor,  the  servant 
said:  "The  governor  is  very  ill  and  can  see  nobody." 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     221 

Then  I  asked  him  to  tell  the  governor,  when  he  was  able 
to  receive  a  message,  that  Chauncey  Depew  called  and 
expressed  his  deep  regret  for  his  illness.  Suddenly  the 
governor  popped  out  from  the  parlor  and  seized  me  by 
the  hand  and  said:  "Chauncey,  come  in.  I  was  never 
so  glad  to  see  anybody  in  my  life." 

He  told  me  the  legislature  had  adjourned  and  left  on 
his  hands  several  thousands  of  thirty-days  bills — that  is, 
bills  on  which  he  had  thirty  days  to  sign  or  veto,  or  let 
them  become  laws  by  not  rejecting  them.  So  he  had  to 
deny  himself  to  everybody  to  get  the  leisure  to  read 
them  over  and  form  decisions. 

"Do  you  know,  Chauncey,"  he  said,  "this  is  a  new 
business  to  me.  Most  of  these  bills  are  on  subjects 
which  I  never  have  examined,  studied,  or  thought  about. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  form  a  wise  judgment,  and  I  want 
to  do  hi  each  case  just  what  is  right."  For  the  moment 
he  became  silent,  seemingly  absorbed  by  anxious  thoughts 
about  these  bills.  Then  suddenly  he  exclaimed:  "By 
the  way,  Chauncey,  youVe  done  a  great  deal  of  thinking 
in  your  life,  and  I  never  have  done  any  except  on  busi 
ness.  Does  intense  thinking  affect  you  as  it  does  me,  by 
upsetting  your  stomach  and  making  you  throw  up?" 

"No,  governor,"  I  answered;  "if  it  did  I  fear  I  would 
be  in  a  chronic  state  of  indigestion." 

While  he  was  governor  he  canvassed  the  State  in  a 
private  car  and  made  many  speeches.  In  a  plain, 
homely  man-to-man  talk  he  was  very  effective  on  the 
platform.  His  train  stopped  at  a  station  in  a  Republi 
can  community  where  there  were  few  Democrats,  while 
I  was  addressing  a  Republican  meeting  in  the  village. 
When  I  had  finished  my  speech  I  said  to  the  crowd, 
which  was  a  large  one:  "Governor  Flower  is  at  the  sta- 


222  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

tion,  and  as  I  passed  he  had  very  few  people  listening 
to  him.  Let  us  all  go  over  and  give  him  an  audience." 

The  proposition  was  received  with  cheers.  I  went 
ahead,  got  in  at  the  other  end  of  the  governor's  car  from 
the  one  where  he  was  speaking  from  the  platform.  As 
this  Republican  crowd  began  to  pour  in,  it  was  evident 
as  I  stood  behind  him  without  his  knowing  of  my  pres 
ence,  that  he  was  highly  delighted.  He  shouted:  "Fel 
low  citizens,  I  told  you  they  were  coming.  They  are 
coming  from  the  mountains,  from  the  hills,  and  from  the 
valleys.  It  is  the  stampede  from  the  Republican  party 
and  into  our  ranks  and  for  our  ticket.  This  is  the  hap 
piest  evidence  I  have  received  of  the  popularity  of  our 
cause  and  the  success  of  our  ticket." 

Standing  behind  him,  I  made  a  signal  for  cheers, 
which  was  heartily  responded  to,  and  the  governor,  turn 
ing  around,  saw  the  joke,  grasped  me  cordially  by  the 
hand,  and  the  whole  crowd,  including  the  veteran  and 
hardened  Democrats  on  the  car,  joined  in  the  hilarity  of 
the  occasion. 

He  came  to  me  when  he  was  running  for  the  second 
time  for  Congress,  and  said  that  some  of  the  people  of 
his  district  were  anxious  for  me  to  deliver  an  address  for 
one  of  their  pet  charities,  and  that  the  meeting  would 
be  held  in  Harlem,  naming  the  evening.  I  told  him  I 
would  go.  He  came  for  me  in  his  carriage,  and  I  said: 
"Governor,  please  do  not  talk  to  me  on  the  way  up.  I 
was  so  busy  that  I  have  had  no  time  since  I  left  my  of 
fice  this  afternoon  to  prepare  this  address,  and  I  want 
every  minute  while  we  are  riding  to  the  meeting." 

The  meeting  was  a  large  one.  The  governor  took  the 
chair  and  introduced  me  in  this  original  way:  "Ladies 
and  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  say  about  Chauncey 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE     223 

Depew,  whom  I  am  now  going  to  introduce  to  you  as  the 
lecturer  of  the  evening,  that  he  is  no  Demosthenes,  be 
cause  he  can  beat  Demosthenes  out  of  sight.  He  pre 
pared  his  speech  in  the  carriage  in  which  I  was  bringing 
him  up  here,  and  he  don't  have,  like  the  old  Greek,  to 
chew  pebble-stones  in  order  to  make  a  speech." 

Governor  Flower  in  a  conservative  way  was  a  suc 
cessful  trader  in  the  stock  market.  When  he  felt  he  had 
a  sure  point  he  would  share  it  with  a  few  friends.  He 
took  special  delight  in  helping  in  this  way  men  who  had 
little  means  and  no  knowledge  of  the  art  of  money- 
making.  There  were  a  great  many  benefited  by  his 
bounty. 

I  was  dining  one  night  with  the  Gridiron  Club  at 
Washington,  and  before  me  was  a  plate  of  radishes.  The 
newspaper  man  next  to  me  asked  if  I  would  object  to 
having  the  radishes  removed. 

I  said:  "There  is  no  odor  or  perfume  from  them. 
What  is  the  matter  with  the  radishes?" 

After  they  were  taken  away  he  told  me  his  story. 
"Governor  Flower,"  he  said,  "was  very  kind  to  me,  as 
he  invariably  was  to  all  newspaper  men.  He  asked  me 
one  day  how  much  I  had  saved  in  my  twenty  years  in 
journalism.  I  told  him  ten  thousand  dollars.  He  said: 
'That  is  not  enough  for  so  long  a  period.  Let  me  have 
the  money/  So  I  handed  over  to  him  my  bank-account. 
In  a  few  weeks  he  told  me  that  my  ten  thousand  dollars 
had  become  twenty,  and  I  could  have  them  if  I  wished. 
I  said:  'No,  you  are  doing  far  better  than  I  could.  Keep 
it.'  In  about  a  month  or  more  my  account  had  grown  to 
thirty  thousand  dollars.  Then  the  governor  on  a  very 
hot  day  went  fishing  somewhere  off  the  Long  Island 
coast.  He  was  a  very  large,  heavy  man,  became  over- 


224  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

heated,  and  on  his  return  drank  a  lot  of  ice-water  and 
ate  a  bunch  of  radishes.  He  died  that  afternoon. 
There  was  a  panic  in  the  stocks  which  were  his  favorites 
the  next  day,  and  they  fell  out  of  sight.  The  result  was 
that  I  lost  my  fortune  of  ten  thousand  dollars  and  also 
my  profit  of  twenty.  Since  then  the  sight  of  a  radish 
makes  me  sick." 


XVIII 

FIFTY-SIX   YEARS   WITH   THE    NEW   YORK   CENTRAL 
RAILROAD  COMPANY 

Heredity  has  much  to  do  with  a  man's  career.  The 
village  of  Peekskill-on-the-Hudson,  about  forty  miles 
from  New  York,  was  in  the  early  days  the  market-town 
of  a  large  section  of  the  surrounding  country,  extending 
over  to  the  State  of  Connecticut.  It  was  a  farming 
region,  and  its  products  destined  for  New  York  City 
were  shipped  by  sloops  on  the  Hudson  from  the  wharfs 
at  Peekskill,  and  the  return  voyage  brought  back  the 
merchandise  required  by  the  country. 

My  father  and  his  brother  owned  the  majority  of  the 
sloops  engaged  in  this,  at  that  time,  almost  the  only 
transportation.  The  sloops  were  succeeded  by  steam 
boats  in  which  my  people  were  also  interested.  When 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  entered  into  active  rivalry  with 
the  other  steamboat  lines  between  New  York  and  Al 
bany,  the  competition  became  very  serious.  Newer  and 
faster  boats  were  rapidly  built.  These  racers  would 
reach  the  Bay  of  Peekskill  in  the  late  afternoon,  and  the 
younger  population  of  the  village  would  be  on  the  banks 
of  the  river,  enthusiastically  applauding  their  favorites. 
Among  well-known  boats  whose  names  and  achievements 
excited  as  much  interest  and  aroused  as  much  partisan 
ship  and  sporting  spirit  as  do  now  famous  race-horses 
or  baseball  champions,  were  the  following:  Mary  Powell, 

Dean  Richmond,  The  Alida,  and  The  Hendrick  Hudson. 

225 


226  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

I  remember  as  if  it  were  yesterday  when  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad  had  reached  Peekskill,  and  the  event  was 
locally  celebrated.  The  people  came  in  as  to  a  county 
fair  from  fifty  miles  around.  When  the  locomotive 
steamed  into  the  station  many  of  those  present  had 
;  never  seen  one.  The  engineer  was  continuously  blowing 
his  whistle  to  emphasize  the  great  event.  This  produced 
much  consternation  and  confusion  among  the  horses,  as 
all  farmers  were  there  with  their  families  in  carriages  or 
wagons. 

I  recall  one  team  of  young  horses  which  were  driven  to 
frenzy;  their  owner  was  unable  to  control  them,  but  he 
kept  them  on  the  road  while  they  ran  away  with  a  wild 
dash  over  the  hills.  In  telling  this  story,  as  illustrating 
how  recent  is  railway  development  in  the  United  States, 
at  a  dinner  abroad,  I  stated  that  as  far  as  I  knew  and 
believed,  those  horses  were  so  frightened  that  they  could 
not  be  stopped  and  were  still  running.  A  very  success 
ful  and  serious-minded  captain  of  industry  among  the 
guests  sternly  rebuked  me  by  saying:  "Sir,  that  is  im 
possible;  horses  were  never  born  that  could  run  for 
twenty-five  years  without  stopping."  American  exag 
geration  was  not  so  well  known  among  our  friends  on  the 
other  side  then  as  it  is  now. 

As  we  boys  of  the  village  were  gathered  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson  cheering  our  favorite  steamers,  or  watch 
ing  with  eager  interest  the  movements  of  the  trains,  a 
frequent  discussion  would  be  about  our  ambitions  in  life. 
Every  young  fellow  would  state  a  dream  which  he  hoped 
but  never  expected  to  be  realized.  I  was  charged  by  my 
companions  with  having  the  greatest  imagination  and 
with  painting  more  pictures  in  the  skies  than  any  of 
them.  This  was  because  I  stated  that  in  politics,  for  I  was 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       227 

a  great  admirer  of  William  H.  Seward,  then  senator  from 
New  York,  I  expected  to  be  a  United  States  senator,  and 
in  business,  because  then  the  largest  figure  in  the  busi 
ness  world  was  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  I  hoped  to  be 
come  president  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad.  It  is  one 
of  the  strangest  incidents  of  what  seemed  the  wild  imag 
inings  of  a  village  boy  that  in  the  course  of  long  years 
both  these  expectations  were  realized. 

When  I  entered  the  service  of  the  railroad  on  the  first 
of  January,  1866,  the  Vanderbilt  system  consisted  of  the 
Hudson  River  and  Harlem  Railroads,  the  Harlem  ending 
at  Chatham,  128  miles,  and  the  Hudson  River  at  Al 
bany,  140  miles  long.  The  Vanderbilt  system  now 
covers  20,000  miles.  The  total  railway  mileage  of  the 
whole  United  States  at  that  time  was  36,000,  and  now 
it  is  261,000  miles. 

My  connection  with  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
covers  practically  the  whole  period  of  railway  construc 
tion,  expansion,  and  development  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  a  singular  evidence  of  the  rapidity  of  our  country's 
growth  and  of  the  way  which  that  growth  has  steadily 
followed  the  rails,  that  all  this  development  of  States,  of 
villages  growing  into  cities,  of  scattered  communities  be 
coming  great  manufacturing  centres,  of  an  internal  com 
merce  reaching  proportions  where  it  has  greater  volume 
than  the  foreign  interchanges  of  the  whole  world,  has 
come  about  during  a  period  covered  by  the  official  career 
of  a  railroad  man  who  is  still  in  the  service:  an  attorney 
in  1866,  a  vice-president  in  1882,  president  in  1885, 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  in  1899,  and  still 
holds  that  office. 

There  is  no  such  record  in  the  country  for  continuous 
service  with  one  company,  which  during  the  whole  period 


228  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

has  been  controlled  by  one  family.  This  service  of  more 
than  half  a  century  has  been  in  every  way  satisfactory. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  see  the  fourth  generation,  inheriting 
the  ability  of  the  father,  grandfather,  and  great-grand 
father,  still  active  in  the  management. 

I  want  to  say  that  in  thus  linking  my  long  relationship 
with  the  railroads  to  this  marvellous  development,  I  do 
not  claim  to  have  been  better  than  the  railway  officers 
who  during  this  time  have  performed  their  duties  to  the 
best  of  their  ability.  I  wish  also  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
men  of  original  genius,  of  vision  and  daring,  to  whom 
so  much  is  due  in  the  expansion  and  improvement  of  the 
American  railway  systems. 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  one  of  the  most  remark 
able  men  our  country  has  produced.  He  was  endowed 
with  wonderful  foresight,  grasp  of  difficult  situations, 
ability  to  see  opportunities  before  others,  to  solve  serious 
problems,  and  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  He  had 
little  education  or  early  advantages,  but  was  eminently 
successful  in  everything  he  undertook.  As  a  boy  on 
Staten  Island  he  foresaw  that  upon  transportation  de 
pended  the  settlement,  growth,  and  prosperity  of  this 
nation.  He  began  with  a  small  boat  running  across  the 
harbor  from  Staten  Island  to  New  York.  Very  early  in 
his  career  he  acquired  a  steamboat  and  in  a  few  years 
was  master  of  Long  Island  Sound.  He  then  extended 
his  operations  to  the  Hudson  River  and  speedily  acquired 
the  dominating  ownership  in  boats  competing  between 
New  York  and  Albany. 

When  gold  was  discovered  in  California  he  started  a 
line  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  and 
secured  from  the  government  of  Nicaragua  the  privilege 
of  crossing  the  Isthmus  for  a  transportation  system 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       229 

through  its  territory,  and  then  established  a  line  of 
steamers  on  the  Pacific  to  San  Francisco.  In  a  short 
time  the  old-established  lines,  both  on  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Pacific,  were  compelled  to  sell  out  to  him.  Then 
he  entered  the  transatlantic  trade,  with  steamers  to  Eu 
rope. 

With  that  vision  which  is  a  gift  and  cannot  be  ac 
counted  for,  he  decided  that  the  transportation  work  of 
the  future  was  on  land  and  in  railroads.  He  abandoned 
the  sea,  and  his  first  enterprise  was  the  purchase  of  the 
New  York  and  Harlem  Railroad,  which  was  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  miles  long.  The  road  was 
bankrupt  and  its  road-bed  and  equipment  going  from 
bad  to  worse.  The  commodore  reconstructed  the  line, 
re-equipped  it,  and  by  making  it  serviceable  to  its  terri 
tory  increased  its  traffic  and  turned  its  business  from 
deficiency  into  profit.  This  was  in  1864.  The  commo 
dore  became  president,  and  his  son,  William  H.  Vander- 
bilt,  vice-president.  He  saw  that  the  extension  of  the 
Harlem  was  not  advisable,  and  so  secured  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  running  from  New  York  to  Albany,  and 
became  its  president  in  1865.  It  was  a  few  months 
after  this  when  he  and  his  son  invited  me  to  become  a 
member  of  their  staff. 

The  station  of  the  Harlem  Railroad  in  the  city  of  New 
York  was  at  that  time  at  Fourth  Avenue  and  Twenty- 
sixth  Street,  and  that  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad  at 
Chambers  Street,  near  the  North  River. 

In  a  few  years  William  H.  Vanderbilt  purchased  the 
ground  for  the  Harlem  Railroad  Company,  where  is  now 
located  the  Grand  Central  Terminal,  and  by  the  acquisi 
tion  by  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Rail 
road  of  the  Harlem  Railroad  the  trains  of  the  New  York 


230  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Central  were  brought  around  into  the  Grand  Central 
Station. 

In  1867,  two  years  after  Mr.  Vanderbilt  had  acquired 
the  Hudson  River  Railroad,  he  secured  the  control  of  the 
New  York  Central,  which  ran  from  Albany  to  Buffalo. 
This  control  was  continued  through  the  Lake  Shore  on 
one  side  of  the  lakes  and  the  Michigan  Central  on  the 
other  to  Chicago.  Subsequently  the  Vanderbilt  System 
was  extended  to  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis.  It  was  thus 
in  immediate  connection  with  the  West  and  Northwest 
centering  in  Chicago,  and  the  Southwest  at  Cincinnati 
and  St.  Louis.  By  close  connection  and  affiliation  with 
the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway  Company,  the 
Vanderbilt  system  was  extended  beyond  to  Mississippi. 
I  became  director  in  the  New  York  Central  in  1874  and 
in  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  in  1877. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet  with  more  or  less 
intimacy  many  of  the  remarkable  men  in  every  depart 
ment  of  life,  but  I  think  Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  the 
most  original.  I  had  been  well  acquainted  for  some 
years  both  with  the  commodore  and  his  son,  William  H. 
When  I  became  attorney  my  relations  were  more  inti 
mate  than  those  usually  existing.  I  was  in  daily  con 
sultation  with  the  commodore  during  the  ten  years  prior 
to  his  death,  and  with  his  son  from  1866  to  1885,  when 
he  died. 

The  commodore  was  constantly,  because  of  his  wealth 
and  power,  importuned  by  people  who  wished  to  interest 
him  in  their  schemes.  Most  of  the  great  and  progressive 
enterprises  of  his  time  were  presented  to  him.  He  would 
listen  patiently,  ask  a  few  questions,  and  in  a  short  time 
grasp  the  whole  subject.  Then  with  wonderful  quick 
ness  and  unerring  judgment  he  would  render  his  decision. 
No  one  knew  by  what  process  he  arrived  at  these  con- 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       231 

elusions.     They  seemed  to  be  the  results  as  much  of 
inspiration  as  of  insight. 

The  Civil  War  closed  in  1865,  and  one  of  its  lessons 
had  been  the  necessity  for  more  railroads.  The  country 
had  discovered  that  without  transportation  its  vast  and 
fertile  territories  could  neither  be  populated  nor  made 
productive.  Every  mile  of  railroad  carried  settlers, 
opened  farms  and  increased  the  national  resources  and 
wealth.  The  economical  and  critical  conditions  of  the 
country,  owing  to  the  expansion  of  the  currency  and 
banking  conditions,  facilitated  and  encouraged  vast 
schemes  of  railroad  construction.  This  and  a  wild  spec 
ulation  resulted  in  the  panic  of  1873.  Nearly  the  whole 
country  went  bankrupt.  The  recovery  was  rapid,  and 
the  constructive  talent  of  the  Republic  saw  that  the 
restoration  of  credit  and  prosperity  must  be  led  by  rail 
way  solvency.  In  August,  1874,  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt  invited  the  representatives  of  the  other  and  competi 
tive  lines  to  a  conference  at  Saratoga.  Owing,  however, 
to  the  jealousies  and  hostilities  of  the  period,  only  the 
New  York  Central,  the  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Erie  rail 
ways  were  represented. 

The  eastern  railway  situation  was  then  dominated  by 
Commodore  Vanderbilt,  Colonel  Thomas  A.  Scott,  of  the 
Pennsylvania,  and  John  W.  Garrett,  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio.  Both  Scott  and  Garrett  were  original  men 
and  empire  builders.  There  was  neither  governmental 
nor  State  regulation.  The  head  of  a  railway  system  had 
practically  unlimited  power  in  the  operation  of  his  road. 
The  people  were  so  anxious  for  the  construction  of  rail 
ways  that  they  offered  every  possible  inducement  to 
capital.  The  result  was  a  great  deal  of  unprofitable  con 
struction  and  immense  losses  to  the  promoters. 

These  able  men  saw  that  there  was  no  possibility  of 


232  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

railway  construction,  operation,  and  efficiency,  with  a 
continuance  of  unrestricted  competition.  It  has  taken 
from  1874  until  1920  to  educate  the  railway  men,  the 
shippers,  and  the  government  to  a  realization  of  the  fact 
that  transportation  facilities  required  for  the  public 
necessities  can  only  be  had  by  the  freest  operations  and 
the  strictest  government  regulations;  that  the  solution  of 
the  problem  is  a  system  so  automatic  that  public  arbitra 
tion  shall  decide  the  justice  of  the  demands  of  labor,  and 
rates  be  advanced  to  meet  the  decision,  and  that  public 
authority  also  shall  take  into  consideration  the  other  fac 
tors  of  increased  expenses  and  adequate  facilities  for  the 
railroads,  and  that  maintenance  and  the  highest  effi 
ciency  must  be  preserved  and  also  necessary  extensions. 
To  satisfy  and  attract  capital  there  must  be  the  assur 
ance  of  a  reasonable  return  upon  the  investment. 

The  meeting  called  by  Commodore  Vanderbilt  in  1874, 
at  Saratoga,  was  an  epoch-making  event.  We  must 
remember  the  railway  management  of  the  country  was 
in  the  absolute  control  of  about  four  men,  two  of  whom 
were  also  largest  owners  of  the  lines  they  managed. 
Fierce  competition  and  cutting  of  rates  brought  on  utter 
demoralization  among  shippers,  who  could  not  calculate 
on  the  cost  of  transportation,  and  great  favoritism  to 
localities  and  individuals  by  irresponsible  freight  agents 
who  controlled  the  rates.  Under  these  influences  rail 
way  earnings  were  fluctuating  and  uncertain.  Improve 
ments  were  delayed  and  the  people  on  the  weaker  lines 
threatened  with  bankruptcy. 

Public  opinion,  however,  believed  this  wild  competi 
tion  to  be  the  only  remedy  for  admitted  railway  evils. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  change  of  public  opinion  and 
the  better  understanding  of  the  railway  problems,  this 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       233 

occurred  in  the  month  of  October,  1920.  A  committee 
of  shippers  and  producers  representing  the  farmers, 
manufacturers,  and  business  men  along  a  great  railway 
system  came  to  see  the  manager  of  the  railroad  and  said 
to  him:  "We  have  been  all  wrong  in  the  past.  Our 
effort  has  always  been  for  lower  rates,  regardless  of  the 
necessities  of  the  railways.  We  have  tried  to  get  them 
by  seeking  bids  from  competing  lines  for  our  shipments 
and  by  appealing  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis 
sion.  The  expenses  of  the  railroads  have  been  increased 
by  demands  of  kbor,  by  constantly  rising  prices  and  cost 
of  rails,  cars,  terminals,  and  facilities,  but  we  have  been 
against  allowing  the  railroads  to  meet  this  increased  cost 
of  operation  by  adequate  advances  in  rates.  We  now 
see  that  this  course  was  starving  the  railroads,  and  we 
are  suffering  for  want  of  cars  and  locomotives  to  move 
our  traffic  and  terminals  to  care  for  it.  We  are  also  suf 
fering  because  the  old  treatment  of  the  railroads  has 
frightened  capital  so  that  the  roads  cannot  get  money  to 
maintain  their  lines  and  make  necessary  improvements 
to  meet  the  demands  of  business.  We  know  now  that 
rates  make  very  little  difference,  because  they  can  be 
absorbed  in  our  business.  What  we  must  have  is  facili 
ties  to  transport  our  products,  and  we  want  to  help  the 
railroads  to  get  money  and  credit,  and  again  we  empha 
size  our  whole  trouble  is  want  of  cars,  locomotives,  and 
terminal  facilities." 

Happily,  public  opinion  was  reflected  in  the  last  Con 
gress  in  the  passage  of  the  Cummins-Esch  bill,  which  is 
the  most  enlightened  and  adaptable  legislation  of  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century. 

To  return  to  the  conference  at  Saratoga,  the  New 
York  Central,  the  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Erie  came  to 


234  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  conclusion  that  they  must  have  the  co-operation  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio.  As  Mr.  Garrett,  president  and 
controlling  owner  of  that  road,  would  not  come  to  the 
conference,  the  members  decided  that  the  emergency  was 
so  great  that  they  must  go  to  him.  This  was  probably 
the  most  disagreeable  thing  Commodore  Vanderbilt  ever 
did.  The  marvellous  success  of  his  wonderful  life  had 
been  won  by  fighting  and  defeating  competitors.  The 
peril  was  so  great  that  they  went  as  associates,  and  the 
visit  interested  the  whole  country  and  so  enlarged  Mr. 
Garrett's  opinion  of  his  power  that  he  rejected  their  offer 
and  said  he  would  act  independently.  A  railway  war 
immediately  followed,  and  in  a  short  time  bankruptcy 
threatened  all  lines,  and  none  more  than  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio. 

The  trunk  lines  then  got  together  and  entered  into  an 
agreement  to  stabilize  rates  and  carry  them  into  effect. 
They  appointed  as  commissioner  Mr.  Albert  Fink,  one 
of  the  ablest  railway  men  of  that  time.  Mr.  Fink's  ad 
ministration  was  successful,  but  the  rivalries  and  jeal 
ousies  of  the  lines  and  the  frequent  breaking  of  agree 
ments  were  too  much  for  one  man. 

The  presidents  and  general  managers  of  all  the  rail 
roads  east  of  Chicago  "then  met  and  formed  an  associa 
tion,  and  this  association  was  a  legislative  body  without 
any  legal  authority  to  enforce  its  decrees.  It  had,  how 
ever,  two  effects:  the  disputes  which  arose  were  publicly 
discussed,  and  the  merits  of  each  side  so  completely  dem 
onstrated  that  the  decision  of  the  association  came  to 
be  accepted  as  just  and  right.  Then  the  verdict  of  the 
association  had  behind  it  the  whole  investment  and 
banking  community  and  the  press.  The  weight  of  this 
was  sufficient  to  compel  obedience  to  its  decisions  by  the 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       235 

most  rebellious  member.  No  executive  could  continue 
to  hold  his  position  while  endeavoring  to  break  up  the 
association. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  gratifying  events  of  my  life 
that  my  associates  in  this  great  and  powerful  association 
elected  me  their  president,  and  I  continued  in  office  until 
the  Supreme  Court  in  a  momentous  decision  declared 
that  the  railroads  came  under  the  provision  of  the  Sher 
man  Anti-Trust  Law  and  dissolved  these  associations  in 
the  East,  West,  and  South. 

It  was  a  liberal  education  of  the  railway  problems  to 
meet  the  men  who  became  members  of  this  association. 
Most  of  them  left  an  indelible  impression  upon  the  rail 
way  conditions  of  the  time  and  of  the  railway  policies  of 
the  future.  All  were  executives  of  great  ability  and  sev 
eral  rare  constructive  geniuses. 

In  our  system  there  was  John  Newell,  president  of  the 
Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern,  a  most  capable  and 
efficient  manager.  Henry  B.  Ledyard,  president  of  the 
Michigan  Central,  was  admirably  trained  for  the  great 
responsibilities  which  he  administered  so  well.  There 
was  William  Bliss,  president  of  the  Boston  and  Albany, 
who  had  built  up  a  line  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  of  the 
New  England  group. 

Melville  E.  Ingalls,  president  of  the  Cleveland,  Cin 
cinnati,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  had  combined  various 
weak  and  bankrupt  roads  and  made  them  an  efficient 
organization.  He  had  also  rehabilitated  and  put  in  use 
ful  working  and  paying  condition  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio. 

Ingalls  told  me  a  very  good  story  of  himself.  He  had 
left  the  village  in  Maine,  where  he  was  born,  and  after 
graduation  from  college  and  admission  to  the  bar  had 


236  CHAUNCEY  ML   DEPEW 

settled  in  Boston.  To  protect  the  interests  of  his  clients 
he  had  moved  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  rescued  railroad 
properties  in  which  they  were  interested.  When  his  suc 
cess  was  complete  and  he  had  under  his  control  a  large 
and  successfully  working  railway  system,  he  made  a 
visit  to  his  birthplace. 

One  evening  he  went  down  to  the  store  where  the  vil 
lage  congress  was  assembled,  sitting  on  the  barrels  and 
the  counter.  They  welcomed  him  very  cordially,  and 
then  an  inquisitive  farmer  said  to  him:  "Melville,  it  is 
reported  around  here  that  you  are  getting  a  salary  of 
nigh  unto  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year." 

Mr.  Ingalls,  who  was  getting  several  times  that 
amount,  modestly  admitted  the  ten,  which  was  a  pro 
digious  sum  in  that  rural  neighborhood.  Whereupon 
the  old  farmer  voiced  the  local  sentiment  by  saying: 
"Well,  Melville,  that  shows  what  cheek  and  circum 
stances  can  do  for  a  man." 

I  recall  an  incident  connected  with  one  of  the  ablest 
of  the  executives  in  our  system.  One  day  we  had  a  con 
ference  of  rival  interests,  and  many  executives  were 
there  in  the  effort  to  secure  an  adjustment.  For  this 
purpose  we  had  an  arbitrator.  After  a  most  exhausting 
day  in  the  battle  of  wits  and  experience  for  advantages, 
I  arrived  home  used  up,  but  after  a  half-hour's  sleep  I 
awoke  refreshed  and,  consulting  my  diary,  found  I  was 
down  for  a  speech  at  a  banquet  at  Delmonico's  that 
night. 

I  arrived  late,  the  intervening  time  being  devoted  to 
intensive  and  rapid  preparation.  I  was  called  early. 
The  speech  attracted  attention  and  occupied  a  column  in 
the  morning's  papers.  I  was  in  bed  at  eleven  o'clock 
and  had  between  seven  and  eight  hours'  refreshing  sleep. 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       237 

On  arriving  at  our  meeting-place  the  next  morning, 
one  of  the  best-known  presidents  took  me  aside  and 
said:  "Chauncey,  by  making  speeches  such  as  you  did 
last  night  you  are  losing  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
They  say  you  cannot  prepare  such  speeches  and  give 
proper  attention  to  your  business." 

"Well,"  I  said  to  him,  "my  friend,  did  I  lose  anything 
before  the  arbitrator  yesterday?" 

He  answered  very  angrily:  "No,  you  gained  entirely 
too  much." 

"Well,"  I  then  said,  "I  am  very  fresh  this  morning. 
But  what  did  you  do  last  night?" 

He  answered  that  he  was  so  exhausted  that  he  went 
to  Delmonico's  and  ordered  the  best  dinner  possible. 
Then  he  went  on  to  say:  "A  friend  told  me  a  little  game 
was  going  on  up-stairs,  and  in  a  close  room  filled  with 
tobacco  smoke  I  played  poker  until  two  o'clock  and 
drank  several  high-balls.  The  result  is,  I  think  we  bet 
ter  postpone  this  meeting,  for  I  do  not  feel  like  doing 
anything  to-day." 

"My  dear  friend,"  I  said,  "y°u  will  get  the  credit  of 
giving  your  whole  time  to  business,  while  I  am  by  doing 
what  refreshes  my  mind  discredited,  because  it  gets  in 
the  papers.  I  shall  keep  my  method  regardless  of  con 
sequences." 

He  kept  his,  and  although  much  younger  than  myself 
died  years  ago. 

George  B.  Roberts,  president  of  the  Pennsylvania,  was 
a  very  wise  executive  and  of  all-around  ability.  Frank 
Thompson,  vice-president  and  afterwards  president  of 
the  same  road,  was  one  of  the  ablest  operating  officers  of 
his  time  and  a  most  delightful  personality.  Mr.  A.  J. 
Cassatt  was  a  great  engineer  and  possessed  rare  foresight 


238  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

and  vision.  He  brought  the  Pennsylvania  into  New 
York  City  through  a  tunnel  under  the  Hudson  River, 
continued  the  tunnel  across  the  city  to  the  East  River 
and  then  under  the  river  to  connect  with  the  Long 
Island,  which  he  had  acquired  for  his  system. 

D.  W.  Caldwell,  president  of  the  New  York,  Chicago, 
and  St.  Louis,  added  to  railway  ability  wit  and  humor. 
He  told  a  good  story  on  Mr.  George  Roberts.  Caldwell 
was  at  one  time  division  superintendent  under  President 
Roberts.  He  had  obtained  permission  to  build  a  new 
station-house,  in  whose  plan  and  equipment  he  was 
deeply  interested.  It  was  Mr.  Roberts's  habit,  by  way 
of  showing  his  subordinates  that  he  was  fully  aware  of 
their  doings,  to  either  add  or  take  away  something  from 
their  projects. 

Caldwell  prepared  a  station-house  according  to  his 
ideas,  and,  to  prevent  Roberts  from  making  any  essential 
changes  he  added  an  unnecessary  bay  window  to  the 
front  of  the  passengers'  room.  Roberts  carefully  exam 
ined  the  plans  and  said:  "Remove  that  bay  window/' 
and  then  approved  the  plan,  and  Caldwell  had  what 
he  wanted. 

Caldwell  used  to  tell  of  another  occasion  when  on  a 
Western  line  he  had  over  him  a  very  severe  and  harsh 
disciplinarian  as  president.  This  president  was  a  violent 
prohibitionist  and  had  heard  that  Caldwell  was  a  bon- 
vivant.  He  sent  for  Caldwell  to  discipline  or  discharge 
him.  After  a  long  and  tiresome  journey  Caldwell  arrived 
at  the  president's  house.  His  first  greeting  was:  "Mr. 
Caldwell,  do  you  drink?" 

Caldwell,  wholly  unsuspicious,  answered:  "Thank  you, 
Mr.  President,  I  am  awfully  tired  and  will  take  a  little 
rye." 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       239 

Mr.  E.  B.  Thomas,  president  of  the  Lehigh  Valley, 
was  a  valuable  member  of  the  association.  The  Balti 
more  and  Ohio,  as  usual,  had  its  president,  Mr.  Charles 
F.  Mayer,  accompanied  by  an  able  staff.  The  Erie  was 
represented  by  one  of  the  most  capable  and  genial  of  its 
many  presidents,  Mr.  John  King. 

King  was  a  capital  story-teller,  and  among  them  I 
remember  this  one:  At  one  time  he  was  general  man 
ager  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  under  John  W.  Garrett. 
In  order  to  raise  money  for  his  projected  extensions, 
Garrett  had  gone  to  Europe.  The  times  were  finan 
cially  very  difficult.  Johns  Hopkins,  the  famous  philan 
thropist,  died.  His  immortal  monument  is  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  and  Medical  School.  Everybody  in 
Baltimore  attended  the  funeral.  Among  the  leading  per 
sons  present  \yas  another  John  King,  a  banker,  who  was 
Hopkins' s  executor.  A  messenger-boy  rushed  in  with 
a  cable  for  John  King,  and  handed  it  to  John  King, 
the  executor,  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  mourners. 
He  read  it  and  then  passed  it  along  so  that  each  one 
could  read  it  until  it  reached  John  King,  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio,  who  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  line.  The 
cable  read  as  follows:  "Present  my  sympathies  to  the 
family  and  my  high  appreciation  of  Mr.  Johns  Hopkins, 
and  borrow  from  the  executor  all  you  can  at  five  per 
cent.  Garrett." 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  succeeded  in  the  presi 
dency  by  his  son,  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  who  was  then 
past  forty  years  old  and  had  been  a  successful  farmer  on 
Staten  Island.  He  was  active  in  neighborhood  affairs 
and  in  politics.  This  brought  him  in  close  contact  with 
the  people  and  was  of  invaluable  benefit  to  him  when  he 
became  president  of  a  great  railroad  corporation.  He 


240  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

also  acquired  familiarity  in  railway  management  as  a 
director  of  one  on  Staten  Island. 

Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt  was  a  man  of  great  ability, 
and  his  education  made  him  in  many  ways  an  abler  man 
than  his  father  for  the  new  conditions  he  had  to  meet. 
But,  like  many  a  capable  son  of  a  famous  father,  he  did 
not  receive  the  credit  which  was  due  him  because  of 
the  overshadowing  reputation  of  the  commodore.  Never 
theless,  on  several  occasions  he  exhibited  the  highest 
executive  qualities. 

One  of  the  great  questions  of  the  time  was  the  duty  of 
railroads  to  the  cities  in  which  they  terminated,  and  the 
decision  of  the  roads  south  of  New  York  to  have  lower 
rates  to  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  New  York  felt  so 
secure  in  the  strength  of  its  unrivalled  harbor  and  supe^ 
rior  shipping  facilities  that  the  merchants  and  financiers 
were  not  alarmed.  Very  soon,  however,  there  was  such 
a  diversion  of  freight  from  New  York  as  to  threaten  very 
seriously  its  export  trade  and  the  superiority  of  its  port. 
The  commercial  leaders  of  the  city  called  upon  Mr.  Van 
derbilt,  who  after  the  conference  said  to  them:  "I  will 
act  in  perfect  harmony  with  you  and  will  see  that  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  protects  New  York  City 
regardless  of  the  effect  upon  its  finances."  The  city  rep 
resentatives  said:  "That  is  very  fine,  and  we  will  stand 
together." 

Mr.  Vanderbilt  immediately  issued  a  statement  that 
the  rates  to  the  seaboard  should  be  the  same  to  all  ports, 
and  that  the  New  York  Central  would  meet  the  lowest 
rates  to  any  port  by  putting  the  same  in  effect  on  its  own 
lines.  The  result  was  the  greatest  railroad  war  since 
railroads  began  to  compete.  Rates  fell  fifty  per  cent, 
and  it  was  a  question  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,, 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       241 

Commerce  returned  to  New  York,  and  the  competing 
railroads,  to  avoid  bankruptcy,  got  together  and  formed 
the  Trunk  Line  Association. 

New  York  City  has  not  always  remembered  how  inti 
mately  bound  is  its  prosperity  with  that  of  the  great 
railroad  whose  terminal  is  within  its  city  limits.  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  found  that  the  railroad  and  its  management 
were  fiercely  assailed  in  the  press,  in  the  legislature,  and 
in  municipal  councils.  He  became  convinced  that  no 
matter  how  wise  or  just  or  fair  the  railroad  might  be  in 
the  interests  of  every  community  and  every  business 
which  were  so  dependent  upon  its  transportation,  the 
public  would  not  submit  to  any  great  line  being  owned 
by  one  man.  The  Vanderbilt  promptness  in  arriving  at 
a  decision  was  immediately  shown.  He  called  upon  Mr. 
Pierpont  Morgan,  and  through  him  a  syndicate,  which 
Morgan  formed,  took  and  sold  the  greater  part  of  Mr. 
Vanderbilt' s  New  York  Central  stock.  The  result  was 
that  the  New  York  Central  from  that  time  was  owned 
by  the  public.  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  justice  and  fairness 
of  the  Vanderbilt  management  that  though  the  manage 
ment  has  been  submitted  every  year  since  to  a  stock 
holders'  vote,  there  has  practically  never  been  any  oppo 
sition  to  a  continuance  of  the  Vanderbilt  policy  and 
management. 

Among  the  most  important  of  the  many  problems 
during  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  presidency  was  the  question  of 
railway  commissions,  both  in  national  and  State  govern 
ments.  In  my  professional  capacity  of  general  counsel, 
and  in  common  with  representatives  of  other  railroads, 
I  delivered  argumentative  addresses  against  them.  The 
discussions  converted  me,  and  I  became  convinced  of 
their  necessity.  The  rapidly  growing  importance  of 


242  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

railway  transportation  had  created  the  public  opinion 
that  railway  management  should  be  under  the  control 
and  supervision  of  some  public  body;  that  all  passengers 
or  shippers,  or  those  whose  land  was  taken  for  construc 
tion  and  development,  should  have  an  appeal  from  the 
decision  of  the  railway  managers  to  the  government 
through  a  government  commission. 

As  soon  as  I  was  convinced  that  commissions  were 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  both  the  public  and  the 
railroads,  I  presented  this  view  to  Mr.  Vanderbilt.  The 
idea  was  contrary  to  his  education,  training,  and  opinion. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  either  a  commission  or  gov 
ernment  ownership,  and  that  the  commission,  if  strength 
ened  as  a  judicial  body,  would  be  as  much  of  a  protec 
tion  to  the  bond  and  stock  holders  and  the  investing 
public  as  to  the  general  public  and  the  employees.  Mr. 
Vanderbilt,  always  open-minded,  adopted  this  view  and 
supported  the  commission  system  and  favored  legisla 
tion  in  its  behalf. 

In  1883  Mr.  Vanderbilt  decided,  on  account  of  illness, 
to  retire  from  the  presidency,  and  Mr.  James  H.  Rutter 
was  elected  his  successor.  Mr.  Rutter  was  the  ablest 
freight  manager  in  the  country,  but  his  health  gave  way 
under  the  exactions  of  executive  duties,  and  I  acted 
largely  for  him  during  his  years  of  service.  He  died 
early  in  1885,  and  I  was  elected  president. 

The  war  with  the  West  Shore  had  been  on  for  several 
years,  with  disastrous  results  to  both  companies.  The 
Ontario  and  Western,  which  had  large  terminal  facilities 
near  Jersey  City  on  the  \vest  side  of  the  Hudson,  ran  for 
fifty  miles  along  the  river  before  turning  into  the  interior. 
At  its  reorganization  it  had  ten  millions  of  cash  in  the 
treasury.  With  this  as  a  basis,  its  directors  decided  to 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       243 

organize  a  new  railroad,  to  be  called  the  West  Shore, 
and  parallel  the  New  York  Central  through  its  entire 
length  to  Buffalo.  As  the  New  York  Central  efficiently 
served  this  whole  territory,  the  only  business  the  West 
Shore  could  get  must  be  taken  away  from  the  Central. 
To  attract  this  business  it  offered  at  all  stations  lower 
rates.  To  retain  and  hold  its  business  the  New  York 
Central  met  those  rates  at  all  points  so  that  financially 
the  West  Shore  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 

The  New  York  Central  was  sustained  because  of 
its  superior  facilities  and  connections  and  established 
roadway  and  equipment.  But  all  new  and  necessary 
construction  was  abandoned,  maintenance  was  neglected, 
and  equipment  run  down  under  forced  reduction  of 
expenses. 

I  had  very  friendly  personal  relations  with  the  man 
agers  and  officers  of  the  West  Shore,  and  immediately 
presented  to  them  a  plan  for  the  absorption  of  their  line, 
instead  of  continuing  the  struggle  until  absolute  exhaus 
tion.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  approved  of  the  plan,  as  did  the 
financial  interests  represented  by  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan. 

By  the  reorganization  and  consolidation  of  the  two 
companies  the  New  York  Central  began  gradually  to 
establish  its  efficiency  and  to  work  on  necessary  improve 
ments.  As  evidence  of  the  growth  of  the  railway  busi 
ness  of  the  country,  the  New  York  Central  proper  has 
added  since  the  reorganization  an  enormous  amount  of 
increased  trackage,  and  has  practically  rebuilt,  as  a  nec 
essary  second  line,  the  West  Shore  and  used  fully  its 
very  large  terminal  facilities  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the 
Hudson. 

During  his  active  life  Mr.  Vanderbilt  was  very  often 
importuned  to  buy  a  New  York  daily  newspaper.  He 


244  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

was  personally  bitterly  assailed  and  his  property  put  in 
peril  by  attacks  in  the  press.  He  always  rejected  the 
proposition  to  buy  one.  "If,"  he  said,  "I  owned  a  news 
paper,  I  would  have  all  the  others  united  in  attacking 
me,  and  they  would  ruin  me,  but  by  being  utterly  out  of 
the  journalistic  field,  I  find  that  taking  the  press  as '  a 
whole  I  am  fairly  well  treated.  I  do  not  believe  any 
great  interest  dealing  with  the  public  can  afford  to  have 
an  organ." 

Colonel  Scott,  of  the  Pennsylvania,  thought  other 
wise,  but  the  result  of  his  experiment  demonstrated 
the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  judgment.  Scott 
selected  as  editor  of  the  New  York  World  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  journalistic  writers  of  his  time,  William  H. 
Hurlburt.  When  it  became  known,  however,  that  the 
World  belonged  to  Colonel  Scott,  Hurlburt's  genius  could 
not  save  it.  The  circulation  ran  down  to  a  minimum, 
the  advertising  followed  suit,  and  the  paper  was  losing 
enormously  every  month.  Mr.  Joseph  Pulitzer,  with  the 
rare  insight  and  foresight  which  distinguished  him,  saw 
what  could  be  made  of  the  World,  with  its  privileges  in 
the  Associated  Press,  and  so  he  paid  Scott  the  amount 
he  had  originally  invested,  and  took  over  and  made  a 
phenomenal  success  of  this  bankrupt  and  apparently 
hopeless  enterprise. 

I  tried  during  my  presidency  to  make  the  New  York 
Central  popular  with  the  public  without  impairing  its 
efficiency.  The  proof  of  the  success  of  this  was  that 
without  any  effort  on  my  part  and  against  my  published 
wishes  the  New  York  delegation  in  the  national  Repub 
lican  convention  in  1888,  with  unprecedented  unanimity, 
presented  me  as  New  York's  candidate  for  president.  I 
retired  from  the  contest  because  of  the  intense  hostility 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       245 

to  railroad  men  in  the  Western  States.  Those  States 
could  not  understand  how  this  hostility,  which  they  had 
to  railroads  and  everybody  connected  with  them,  had 
disappeared  in  the  great  State  of  New  York. 

During  my  presidency  the  labor  question  was  very 
acute  and  strikes,  one  after  another,  common.  The  uni 
versal  method  of  meeting  the  demands  of  labor  at  that 
time  was  to  have  a  committee  of  employees  or  a  leader 
present  the  grievances  to  the  division  superintendent  or 
the  superintendent  of  motive  power.  These  officers  were 
arbitrary  and  hostile,  as  the  demands,  if  acceded  to,  led 
to  an  increase  of  expenses  which  would  make  them  un 
popular  with  the  management.  They  had  a  difficult 
position.  The  employees  often  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  only  way  for  them  to  compel  the  attention  of 
the  higher  officers  and  directors  was  to  strike. 

Against  the  judgment  of  my  associates  in  the  railway 
management  I  decided  to  open  my  doors  to  any  indi 
vidual  or  committee  of  the  company.  At  first  I  was 
overwhelmed  with  petty  grievances,  but  when  the  men 
understood  that  their  cases  would  be  immediately  heard 
and  acted  upon,  they  decided  among  themselves  not  to 
bring  to  me  any  matters  unless  they  regarded  them  of 
vital  importance.  In  this  way  many  of  the  former  irri 
tations,  which  led  ultimately  to  serious  results,  no  longer 
appeared. 

I  had  no  trouble  with  labor  unions,  and  found  their 
representatives  in  heart-to-heart  talks  very  generally 
reasonable.  Mr.  Arthur,  chief  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Locomotive  Engineers,  had  many  of  the  qualities  of  a 
statesman.  He  built  up  his  organization  to  be  the 
strongest  of  its  kind  among  the  labor  unions.  I  enjoyed 
his  confidence  and  friendship  for  many  years. 


246  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

There  never  was  but  one  strike  on  the  New  York  Cen 
tral  during  my  administration,  and  that  one  occurred 
while  I  was  absent  in  Europe.  Its  origin  and  sequel 
were  somewhat  dramatic.  I  had  nearly  broken  down  by 
overwork,  and  the  directors  advised  me  to  take  an  abso 
lute  rest  and  a  trip  abroad. 

I  sent  word  over  the  line  that  I  wanted  everything 
settled  before  leaving,  and  to  go  without  care.  A  large 
committee  appeared  in  my  office  a  few  mornings  after. 
To  my  surprise  there  was  a  representative  from  every 
branch  of  the  service,  passenger  and  freight  conductors, 
brakemen,  shopmen,  yardmen,  switchmen,  and  so  forth. 
These  had  always  come  through  their  local  unions.  I 
rapidly  took  up  and  adjusted  what  each  one  of  the  repre 
sentatives  of  his  order  claimed,  and  then  a  man  said:  "I 
represent  the  locomotive  engineers." 

My  response  was:  "You  have  no  business  here,  and  I 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  you.  I  will  see  no  one  of  the 
locomotive  engineers,  except  their  accredited  chief  officer/' 

"Well,"  he  said,  "Mr.  President,  there  is  a  new  condi 
tion  on  the  road,  a  new  order  of  labor  called  the  Knights 
of  Labor.  We  are  going  to  absorb  all  the  other  unions 
and  have  only  one.  The  only  obstacle  in  the  way  is  the 
locomotive  engineers,  who  refuse  to  give  up  their  broth 
erhood  and  come  in  with  us,  but  if  you  will  recognize  us 
only,  that  will  force  them  to  join.  Now,  the  Brother 
hood  intends  to  present  a  demand  very  soon,  and  if  you 
will  recognize  our  order,  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  not 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  we  will  take 
care  of  what  they  demand  and  all  others  from  every  de 
partment  for  two  years,  and  you  can  take  your  trip  to 
Europe  in  perfect  peace  of  mind.  If  you  do  not  do  this 
there  will  be  trouble." 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       247 

I  declined  to  deal  with  them  as  representatives  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  Then  their 
spokesman  said:  "As  this  is  so  serious  to  you,  we  will 
give  you  to-night  to  think  it  over  and  come  back  in  the 
morning." 

I  immediately  sent  for  the  superintendent  of  motive 
power  and  directed  him  to  have  posted  by  telegraph  in 
every  roundhouse  that  the  request  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  Locomotive  Engineers,  of  which  this  committee  had 
told  me,  had  been  granted.  The  next  morning  the  com 
mittee  returned,  and  their  leader  said:  "Well,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  you  have  beaten  us  and  we  are  going  home." 

Then  I  appealed  to  them,  saying:  "I  am  a  pretty 
badly  broken-up  man.  The  doctors  tell  me  that  if  I  can 
have  three  months  without  care  I  will  be  as  good  as  ever. 
You  must  admit  that  I  have  at  all  times  been  absolutely 
square  with  you  and  tried  to  adjust  fairly  the  matters 
you  have  brought  to  me.  Now,  will  you  take  care  of  me 
while  I  am  absent?" 

They  answered  unanimously:  "Mr.  President,  we  will, 
and  you  can  be  confident  there  will  be  no  trouble  on  the 
New  York  Central  while  you  are  away." 

I  sailed  with  my  mind  free  from  anxiety,  hopeful  and 
happy,  leaving  word  to  send  me  no  cables  or  letters. 
After  a  visit  to  the  Passion  Play  at  Ober-Ammergau  in 
Upper  Bavaria,  I  went  into  the  Austrian  Tyrol.  One 
night,  at  a  hotel  in  Innsbruck,  Mr.  Graves,  a  very  enter 
prising  reporter  of  a  New  York  paper,  suddenly  burst 
into  my  room  and  said:  "I  have  been  chasing  you  all 
over  Europe  for  an  interview  on  the  strike  on  the  New 
York  Central."  This  was  my  first  information  of  the 
strike. 

As  soon  as  I  had  left  New  York  and  was  on  the  ocean, 


248  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  young  and  ambitious  officers  who  were  at  the  head 
of  the  operations  of  the  railroad  and  disapproved  of  my 
method  of  dealing  with  the  employees,  discharged  every 
member  of  the  committee  who  had  called  upon  me.  Of 
course,  this  was  immediately  followed  by  a  sympathetic 
outburst  in  their  behalf,  and  the  sympathizers  were  also 
discharged.  Then  the  whole  road  was  tied  up  by  a  uni 
versal  strike.  After  millions  had  been  lost  in  revenue  by 
the  railroad  and  in  wages  by  the  men,  the  strike  was 
settled,  as  usual,  by  a  compromise,  but  it  gave  to  the 
Knights  of  Labor  the  control,  except  as  to  the  Brother 
hood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  The  early  settlement  of 
the  strike  was  largely  due  to  the  loyalty  and  courage  of 
the  Brotherhood. 

During  my  presidency  I  was  much  criticised  by  the 
public,  but  never  by  the  directors  of  the  company,  be 
cause  of  my  activities  in  politics  and  on  the  platform. 
For  some  time,  when  the  duties  of  my  office  became  most 
onerous,  and  I  was  in  the  habit  of  working  all  day  and 
far  into  the  night,  I  discovered  that  this  concentrated 
attention  to  my  railroad  problems  and  intense  and  con 
tinuous  application  to  their  solution  was  not  only  im 
pairing  my  efficiency  but  my  health.  As  I  was  not  a 
sport,  and  never  had  time  for  games  or  horses,  I  decided 
to  try  a  theory,  which  was  that  one's  daily  duties  occupied 
certain  cells  of  the  brain  while  the  others  remained  idle; 
that  the  active  cells  became  tired  by  overwork  while 
others  lost  their  power  in  a  measure  by  idleness;  that  if, 
after  a  reasonable  use  of  the  working  cells,  you  would 
engage  in  some  other  intellectual  occupation,  it  would 
furnish  as  much  relief  or  recreation  as  outdoor  exercise 
of  any  kind.  I  had  a  natural  facility  for  quick  and 
easy  preparation  for  public  speaking,  and  so  adopted 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       249 

that  as  my  recreation.  The  result  proved  entirely  suc 
cessful. 

After  a  hard  day's  work,  on  coming  home  late  in  the 
afternoon,  I  accustomed  myself  to  take  a  short  nap  of 
about  fifteen  minutes.  Then  I  would  look  over  my  tab 
lets  to  see  if  any  engagement  was  on  to  speak  in  the 
evening,  and,  if  so,  the  preparation  of  the  speech  might 
be  easy,  or,  if  difficult,  cause  me  to  be  late  at  dinner. 
These  speeches  were  made  several  times  a  week,  and 
mainly  at  banquets  on  closing  of  the  sessions  of  conven 
tions  of  trade  organizations  of  the  country.  The  recip 
rocal  favors  and  friendship  of  these  delegates  transferred 
to  the  New  York  Central  a  large  amount  of  competitive 
business. 

While  I  was  active  in  politics  I  issued  strict  orders 
that  every  employee  should  have  the  same  liberty,  and 
that  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  their  superior  officers  to 
influence  or  direct  the  political  action  of  a  subordinate 
would  be  cause  for  dismissal.  This  became  so  well 
known  that  the  following  incident,  which  was  not  un 
common,  will  show  the  result. 

As  I  was  taking  the  train  the  morning  after  having 
made  a  political  speech  at  Utica,  the  yardmaster,  an 
Irishman,  greeted  me  very  cordially  and  then  said:  "We 
were  all  up  to  hear  ye  last  night,  boss,  but  this  year  we 
are  agin  ye." 

The  position  which  this  activity  gave  me  in  my  own 
party,  and  the  fact  that,  unlike  most  employers,  I  pro 
tected  the  employees  in  their  liberty  and  political  action, 
gave  me  immense  help  in  protecting  the  company  from 
raids  and  raiders. 

We  had  a  restaurant  in  the  station  at  Utica  which  had 
deteriorated.  The  situation  was  called  to  my  attention 


250  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  order  to  have  the  evils  corrected  by  the  receipt  of  the 
following  letter  from  an  indignant  passenger:  "Dear  Mr. 
President:  You  are  the  finest  after-dinner  speaker  in  the 
world.  I  would  give  a  great  deal  to  hear  the  speech  you 
would  make  after  you  had  dined  in  the  restaurant  in 
your  station  at  Utica." 

After  thirteen  years  of  service  as  president  I  was 
elected  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors.  Mr.  Samuel 
R.  Callaway  succeeded  me  as  president,  and  on  his  resig 
nation  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  William  H.  Newman,  and 
upon  his  resignation  Mr.  W.  C.  Brown  became  president. 
Following  Mr.  Brown,  Mr.  Alfred  H.  Smith  was  elected 
and  is  still  in  office.  AH  these  officers  were  able  and  did 
excellent  service,  but  I  want  to  pay  special  tribute  to 
Mr.  Smith. 

Mr.  Smith  is  one  of  the  ablest  operating  officers  of  his 
time.  When  the  United  States  Government  took  over 
the  railroads  he  was  made  regional  director  of  the  gov 
ernment  for  railroads  in  this  territory.  He  received  the 
highest  commendation  from  the  government  and  from 
the  owners  of  the  railroads  for  the  admirable  way  in 
which  he  had  maintained  them  and  their  efficiency  dur 
ing  the  government  control. 

On  the  surrender  of  the  railroads  by  the  government, 
Mr.  Smith  was  welcomed  back  by  his  directors  to  the 
presidency  of  the  New  York  Central.  The  splendid  con 
dition  of  the  Central  and  its  allied  lines  is  largely  due  to 
him.  During  his  service  as  regional  director  the  difficult 
task  of  the  presidency  of  the  New  York  Central  was 
very  ably  performed  by  Mr.  William  K.  Vanderbilt,  Jr. 
Though  the  youngest  among  the  executive  officers  of  the 
railroads  of  the  country,  he  was  at  the  same  time  one  of 
the  best. 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       251 

Among  the  efficient  officers  who  have  served  the  New 
York  Central  during  the  time  I  have  been  with  the  com 
pany,  I  remember  many  on  account  of  their  worth  and 
individuality.  H.  Walter  Webb  came  into  the  railway 
service  from  an  active  business  career.  With  rare  in* 
telligence  and  industry  he  rapidly  rose  in  the  organiza 
tion  and  was  a  very  capable  and  efficient  officer.  There 
was  Theo.  Voorhees,  the  general  superintendent,  an  un 
usually  young  man  for  such  a  responsible  position.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Troy  Polytechnical  School  and  a  very 
able  operating  officer.  Having  gone  directly  from  the 
college  to  a  responsible  position,  he  naturally  did  not 
understand  or  know  how  to  handle  men  until  after  long 
experience.  He  showed  that  want  of  experience  in  a 
very  drastic  way  in  the  strike  of  1892  and  its  settlement. 
Being  very  arbitrary,  he  had  his  own  standards.  For  in 
stance,  I  was  appealed  to  by  many  old  brakemen  and 
conductors  whom  he  had  discharged.  I  mention  one 
particularly,  who  had  been  on  the  road  for  twenty-five 
years.  Voorhees's  answer  to  me  was:  "These  old  em 
ployees  are  devoted  to  Toucey,  my  predecessor,  and  for 
efficient  work  I  must  have  loyalty  to  me." 

I  reversed  his  order  and  told  him  I  would  begin  to  dis 
charge,  if  necessary,  the  latest  appointments,  including 
himself,  keeping  the  older  men  in  the  service  who  had 
proved  their  loyalty  to  the  company  by  the  performance 
of  their  duties. 

Mr.  Voorhees  became  afterwards  vice-president  and 
then  president  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading.  With 
experience  added  to  his  splendid  equipment  and  unusual 
ability  he  became  one  of  the  best  executives  in  the 
country. 

Mr.  John  M.  Toucey,  who  had  come  up  from  the  bot- 


252  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

torn  to  be  general  superintendent  and  general  manager, 
was  a  hard  student.  His  close  contact  with  his  fellow 
employees  gave  him  wonderful  control  over  men.  He 
supplemented  his  practical  experience  by  hard  study  and 
was  very  well  educated.  Though  self-taught,  he  had  no 
confidence  in  the  graduates  of  the  professional  schools. 

In  selecting  an  assistant,  one  of  them  told  me  that 
Toucey  subjected  him  to  a  rigid  examination  and  then 
said:  "What  is  your  railroad  career?" 

"I  began  at  the  bottom,"  answered  the  assistant,  "and 
have  filled  every  office  on  my  old  road  up  to  division 
superintendent,  which  I  have  held  for  so  many  years." 

"That  is  very  fine,"  said  Toucey,  "but  are  you  a 
graduate  of  the  Troy  Technical  School?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Of  the  Stevens  Tech.?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Of  Massachusetts  Tech.?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Then  you  are  engaged,"  said  Toucey. 

Mr.  Toucey  was  well  up-to-date,  and  differed  from 
a  superintendent  on  another  road  in  which  I  was  a 
director.  The  suburban  business  of  that  line  had  in 
creased  very  rapidly,  but  there  were  not  enough  trains  or 
cars  to  accommodate  the  passengers.  The  overcrowding 
caused  many  serious  discomforts.  I  had  the  superin 
tendent  called  before  the  board  of  directors,  and  said  to 
him:  "Why  don't  you  immediately  put  on  more  trains 
and  cars?" 

"Why,  Mr.  Depew,"  he  answered,  "what  would  be 
the  use?  They  are  settling  so  fast  along  the  line  that 
the  people  would  fill  them  up  and  overcrowd  them  just 
as  before." 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       253 

I  was  going  over  the  line  on  an  important  tour  at  one 
time  with  G.  H.  Burroughs,  superintendent  of  the  West 
ern  Division.  We  were  on  his  pony  engine,  with  seats 
at  the  front,  alongside  the  boiler,  so  that  we  could  look 
directly  on  the  track.  Burroughs  sat  on  one  side  and  I 
on  the  other.  He  kept  on  commenting  aloud  by  way  of 
dictating  to  his  stenographer,  who  sat  behind  him,  and 
praise  and  criticism  followed  rapidly.  I  heard  him  utter 
in  his  monotonous  way:  "Switch  misplaced,  we  will  all 
be  in  hell  in  a  minute,"  and  then  a  second  afterwards 
continue:  "We  jumped  the  switch  and  are  on  the  track 
again.  Discharge  that  switchman." 

Major  Zenas  Priest  was  for  fifty  years  a  division  super 
intendent.  It  was  a  delightful  experience  to  go  with  him 
over  his  division.  He  knew  everybody  along  the  line, 
was  general  confidant  in  their  family  troubles  and  arbiter 
in  neighborhood  disputes.  He  knew  personally  every 
employee  and  his  characteristics  and  domestic  situation. 
The  wives  were  generally  helping  him  to  keep  their  hus 
bands  from  making  trouble.  To  show  his  control  and 
efficiency,  he  was  always  predicting  labor  troubles  and 
demonstrating  that  the  reason  they  did  not  occur  was 
because  of  the  way  in  which  he  handled  the  situation. 

Mr.  C.  M.  Bissell  was  a  very  efficient  superintendent, 
and  for  a  long  time  in  charge  of  the  Harlem  Railroad. 
He  told  me  this  incident.  We  decided  to  put  in  effect  as 
a  check  upon  the  conductors  a  system  by  which  a  con 
ductor,  when  a  fare  was  paid  on  the  train,  must  tear 
from  a  book  a  receipt  which  he  gave  to  the  passenger, 
and  mark  the  amount  on  the  stub  from  which  the  receipt 
was  torn.  Soon  after  a  committee  of  conductors  called 
upon  Mr.  Bissell  and  asked  for  an  increase  of  pay.  "Why," 
Bissell  asked,  "boys,  why  do  you  ask  for  that  now?" 


254  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

After  a  rather  embarrassing  pause  the  oldest  con 
ductor  said:  "Mr.  Bissell,  you  have  been  a  conductor 
yourself." 

This  half-century  and  six  years  during  which  I  have 
been  in  the  service  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
has  been  a  time  of  unusual  pleasure  and  remarkably  free 
from  friction  or  trouble.  In  this  intimate  association 
with  the  railroad  managers  of  the  United  States  I  have 
found  the  choicest  friendships  and  the  most  enduring. 
The  railroad  manager  is  rarely  a  large  stockholder,  but 
he  is  a  most  devoted  and  efficient  officer  of  his  company. 
He  gives  to  its  service,  for  the  public,  the  employees,  the 
investors,  and  the  company,  all  that  there  is  in  him.  In 
too  many  instances,  because  these  officers  do  not  get 
relief  from  their  labor  by  variation  of  their  work,  they 
die  exhausted  before  their  time. 

The  story  graphically  told  by  one  of  the  oldest  and 
ablest  of  railroad  men,  Mr.  Marvin  Hughitt,  for  a  long 
time  president  and  now  chairman  of  the  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railway,  illustrates  what  the  railroad  does 
for  the  country.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  North 
western  extended  its  lines  through  Northern  Iowa.  Mr. 
Hughitt  drove  over  the  proposed  extension  on  a  buck- 
board.  The  country  was  sparsely  settled  because  the 
farmers  could  not  get  their  products  to  market,  and  the 
land  was  selling  at  six  dollars  per  acre. 

In  a  quarter  of  a  century  prosperous  villages  and  cities 
had  grown  up  along  the  line,  and  farms  were  selling  at 
over  three  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  While  this  enor 
mous  profit  from  six  dollars  per  acre  to  over  three  hun 
dred  has  come  to  the  settlers  who  held  on  to  their  farms 
because  of  the  possibilities  produced  by  the  railroad,  the 
people  whose  capital  built  the  road  must  remain  satisfied 


WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL       255 

with  a  moderate  return  by  way  of  dividend  and  interest, 
and  without  any  enhancement  of  their  capital,  but  those 
investors  should  be  protected  by  the  State  and  the 
people  to  whom  their  capital  expenditures  have  been 
such  an  enormous  benefit. 


XIX 

RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD 

I  know  of  nothing  more  delightful  for  a  well-read 
American  than  to  visit  the  scenes  in  Great  Britain  with 
which  he  has  become  familiar  in  his  reading.  No  matter 
how  rapidly  he  may  travel,  if  he  goes  over,  the  places 
made  memorable  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  "  Waverley 
Novels,"  and  in  his  poems,  he  will  have  had  impressions, 
thrills,  and  educational  results  which  will  be  a  pleasure 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  The  same  is  true  of  an  ardent 
admirer  of  Dickens  or  of  Thackeray,  in  following  the 
footsteps  of  their  heroes  and  heroines.  I  gained  a  liberal 
education  and  lived  over  again  the  reading  and  studies 
of  a  lifetime  in  my  visits  to  England,  Ireland,  Scotland, 
and  Wales.  I  also  had  much  the  same  experience  of 
vivifying  and  spiritualizing  my  library  in  France,  Italy, 
Germany,  Belgium,  and  Holland. 

London  is  always  most  hospitable  and  socially  the 
most  delightful  of  cities.  While  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
prime  minister  and  more  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  than 
any  statesman  of  any  country,  a  dinner  was  given  to 
him  with  the  special  object  of  having  me  meet  him. . 
The  ladies  and  gentlemen  at  the  dinner  were  all  people 
of  note.  Among  them  were  two  American  bishops.  The 
arrangement  made  by  the  host  and  hostess  was  that 
when  the  ladies  left  the  dining-room  I  should  take  the 
place  made  vacant  alongside  Mr.  Gladstone,  but  one  of 
the  American  bishops,  who  in  his  younger  days  was  a 

256 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    257 

famous  athlete,  made  a  flying  leap  for  that  chair  and  no 
sooner  landed  than  he  at  once  proposed  to  Mr.  Glad 
stone  this  startling  question:  "As  the  bishop  of  the  old 
Catholic  Church  in  Germany  does  not  recognize  the 
authority  of  the  pope,  how  can  he  receive  absolution?" 
— and  some  other  abstruse  theological  questions.  This 
at  once  aroused  Mr.  Gladstone,  who,  when  once  started, 
was  stopped  with  difficulty,  and  there  was  no  pause  until 
the  host  announced  that  the  gentlemen  should  join  the 
ladies.  I  made  it  a  point  at  the  next  dinner  given  for 
me  to  meet  Mr.  Gladstone  that  there  should  be  no 
American  bishops  present. 

At  another  time,  upon  arriving  at  my  hotel  in  London 
from  New  York,  I  found  a  note  from  Lord  Rosebery  say 
ing  that  Mr.  Gladstone  was  dining  with  Lady  Rosebery 
and  himself  that  evening,  and  there  would  be  no  other 
guests,  and  inviting  me  to  come.  I  arrived  early  and 
found  Mr.  Gladstone  already  there.  While  the  custom  in 
London  society  then  was  for  the  guests  to  be  late,  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  always  from  fifteen  minutes  to  half  an 
hour  in  advance  of  the  time  set  by  his  invitation.  He 
greeted  me  with  great  cordiality,  and  at  once  what  were 
known  as  the  Gladstone  tentacles  were  fastened  on  me 
for  information.  It  was  a  peculiarity  with  the  grand  old 
man  that  he  extracted  from  a  stranger  practically  all  the 
man  knew,  and  the  information  was  immediately  assimi 
lated  in  his  wonderful  mind.  He  became  undoubtedly 
the  best-informed  man  on  more  subjects  than  anybody 
in  the  world. 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  to  me:  "It  has  been  raining  here 
for  forty  days.  What  is  the  average  rainfall  in  the 
United  States  and  in  New  York?"  If  there  was  any 
subject  about  which  I  knew  less  than  another,  it  was  the 


258  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

meteorological  conditions  in  America.  He  then  con 
tinued  with  great  glee:  "Our  friend,  Lord  Rosebery,  has 
everything  and  knows  everything,  so  it  is  almost  impos 
sible  to  find  for  him  something  new.  Great  books  are 
common,  but  I  have  succeeded  in  my  explorations  among 
antiquarian  shops  in  discovering  the  most  idiotic  book 
that  ever  was  written.  It  was  by  an  old  lord  mayor  of 
London,  who  filled  a  volume  with  his  experiences  in  an 
excursion  on  the  Thames,  which  is  the  daily  experience 
of  every  Englishman."  To  the  disappointment  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  Lord  Rosebery  also  had  that  book.  The 
evening  was  a  memorable  one  for  me. 

After  a  most  charming  time  and  dinner,  while  Lord 
Rosebery  went  off  to  meet  an  engagement  to  speak  at  a 
meeting  of  colonial  representatives,  Lady  Rosebery  took 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  myself  to  the  opera  at  Covent  Gar 
den.  There  was  a  critical  debate  on  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  the  whips  were  running  in  to  inform  him 
of  the  progress  of  the  battle  and  to  get  instructions  from 
the  great  leader. 

During  the  entr'actes  Mr.  Gladstone  most  interestingly 
talked  of  his  sixty  years'  experience  of  the  opera.  He 
knew  all  the  great  operas  of  that  period,  and  criticised 
with  wonderful  skill  the  composers  and  their  character 
istics.  He  gave  a  word  picture  of  all  the  great  artists 
who  had  appeared  on  the  English  stage  and  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  each.  A  stranger  listening  to  him  would 
have  said  that  a  veteran  musical  critic,  who  had  devoted 
his  life  to  that  and  nothing  else,  was  reminiscing.  He 
said  that  thirty  years  before  the  manager  of  Covent 
Garden  had  raised  the  pitch,  that  this  had  become  so 
difficult  that  most  of  the  artists,  to  reach  it,  used  the 
tremolo,  and  that  the  tremolo  had  taken  away  from  him 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    259 

the  exquisite  pleasure  which  he  formerly  had  in  listening 
to  an  opera. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  at  that  time  the  unquestionable 
master  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  its  foremost  ora 
tor.  I  unfortunately  never  heard  him  at  his  best,  but 
whether  the  question  was  of  greater  or  lesser  importance, 
the  appearance  of  Mr.  Gladstone  at  once  lifted  it  above 
ordinary  discussion  to  high  debate. 

Mr.  Gladstone  asked  many  questions  about  large  for 
tunes  in  the  United  States,  was  curious  about  the  meth 
ods  of  their  accumulation,  and  whether  they  survived  in 
succeeding  generations.  He  wanted  to  know  all  about 
the  reputed  richest  man  among  them.  I  told  him  I  did 
not  know  the  amount  of  his  wealth,  but  that  it  was  at 
least  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

"How  invested?"  he  asked. 

I  answered:  "All  in  fluid  securities  which  could  be 
turned  into  cash  in  a  short  time." 

He  became  excited  at  that  and  said:  "Such  a  man  is 
dangerous  not  only  to  his  own  country  but  to  the  world. 
With  that  amount  of  ready  money  he  could  upset  the 
exchanges  and  paralyze  the  borrowing  power  of  nations." 

"But,"  I  said,  "you  have  enormous  fortunes,"  and 
mentioned  the  Duke  of  Westminster. 

"I  know  every  pound  of  Westminster's  wealth,"  he 
said.  "It  is  in  lands  which  he  cannot  sell,  and  bur 
dened  with  settlements  of  generations  and  obligations 
which  cannot  be  avoided." 

"How  about  the  Rothschilds?"  I  asked. 

"Their  fortunes,"  he  answered,  "are  divided  among 
the  firms  in  London,  Paris,  Vienna,  and  Frankfort,  and 
it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  be  combined  and 
used  to  unsettle  the  markets  of  the  world.  But 


260  CHAIJNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Mr.  -  -  could  do  this  and  prevent  governments  from 
meeting  their  obligations." 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  no  hostility  to  great  fortunes,  how 
ever  large,  unless  so  invested  as  to  be  immediately  avail 
able  by  a  single  man  for  speculation.  But  fortunes 
larger  than  that  of  one  hundred  millions  have  since  been 
acquired,  and  their  management  is  so  conservative  that 
they  are  brakes  and  safeguards  against  unreasoning 
panics.  The  majority  of  them  have  been  used  for  pub 
lic  benefit.  The  most  conspicuous  instances  are  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation,  the  Carnegie  Endowment,  and 
the  Frick  Creation. 

Henry  Labouchere  told  me  a  delightful  story  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  first  meeting  with  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  when 
he  arrived  in  London  as  American  minister.  Mr.  Lin 
coln  became  in  a  short  time  after  his  arrival  one  of  the 
most  popular  of  the  distinguished  list  of  American  rep 
resentatives  to  Great  Britain.  He  was  especially  noted 
for  the  charm  of  his  conversation.  Labouchere  said  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  told  him  that  he  was  very  anxious  to 
meet  Mr.  Lincoln,  both  because  he  was  the  new  minister 
from  the  United  States  and  because  of  his  great  father, 
President  Lincoln.  Labouchere  arranged  for  a  dinner  at 
his  house,  which  was  an  hour  in  the  country  from  Mr. 
Gladstone's  city  residence.  Mrs.  Gladstone  made  Mr. 
Labouchere  promise,  as  a  condition  for  permitting  her 
husband  to  go,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  should  be  back  inside 
of  his  home  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  dinner  had  no  sooner  started  than  some  question 
arose  which  not  only  interested  but  excited  Mr.  Glad 
stone.  He  at  once  entered  upon  an  eloquent  monologue 
on  the  subject.  There  was  no  possibility  of  interruption 
by  any  one,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  chance  whatever  to 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        261 

interpose  a  remark.  When  the  clock  was  nearing  eleven 
Labouchere  interrupted  this  torrent  of  talk  by  saying: 
"Mr.  Gladstone,  it  is  now  eleven;  it  is  an  hour's  ride  to 
London,  and  I  promised  Mrs.  Gladstone  to  have  you 
back  at  ten."  When  they  were  seated  in  the  carriage 
Labouchere  said  to  Mr.  Gladstone:  "Well,  you  have 
passed  an  evening  with  Mr.  Lincoln;  what  do  you  think 
of  him?"  He  replied:  "Mr.  Lincoln  is  a  charming  per 
sonality,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  much  conversa 


tion/3 


Among  the  very  able  men  whom  I  met  in  London  was 
Joseph  Chamberlain.  When  I  first  met  him  he  was  one 
of  Mr.  Gladstone's  trusted  lieutenants.  He  was  a  capi 
tal  speaker,  a  close  and  incisive  debater,  and  a  shrewd 
politician.  When  he  broke  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  he  re 
tained  his  hold  on  his  constituency  and  continued  to  be 
a  leader  in  the  opposite  party. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  told  me  that  in  a  critical  debate  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  when  the  government  was  in 
danger,  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  alone  could  save  the  situa 
tion,  suddenly  disappeared.  Every  known  resort  of  his 
was  searched  to  find  him.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  recollect 
ing  Mr.  Gladstone's  interest  in  a  certain  subject,  drove 
to  the  house  of  the  lady  whose  authority  on  that  subject 
Mr.  Gladstone  highly  respected.  He  found  him  submit 
ting  to  the  lady  for  her  criticism  and  correction  some  of 
Watts' s  hymns,  which  he  had  translated  into  Italian. 

The  British  Government  sent  Mr.  Chamberlain  to 
America,  and  he  had  many  public  receptions  given  him 
by  our  mercantile  and  other  bodies.  On  account  of  his 
separating  from  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Home  Rule,  he  met 
with  a  great  deal  of  hostility  here  from  the  Irish.  I  was 
present  at  a  public  dinner  where  the  interruptions  and 


262  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

hostile  demonstrations  were  very  pronounced.  But  Mr. 
Chamberlain  won  his  audience  by  his  skill  and  fighting 
qualities. 

I  gave  him  a  dinner  at  my  house  and  had  a  number  of 
representative  men  to  meet  him.  He  made  the  occasion 
exceedingly  interesting  by  presenting  views  of  domestic 
conditions  in  England  and  international  ones  with  this 
country,  which  were  quite  new  to  us. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  was  a  guest  on  the  Teutonic  at  the 
famous  review  of  the  British  navy  celebrating  Queen 
Victoria's  jubilee,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  again 
meeting  him.  He  had  recently  married  Miss  Endicott, 
the  charming  daughter  of  our  secretary  of  war,  and 
everybody  appreciated  that  it  was  a  British  statesman's 
honeymoon. 

He  gave  me  a  dinner  in  London,  at  which  were  present 
a  large  company,  and  two  subjects  came  under  very 
acute  discussion.  There  had  been  a  recent  marriage  in 
high  English  society,  where  there  were  wonderful  pedi 
gree  and  relationships  on  both  sides,  but  no  money.  It 
finally  developed,  however,  that  under  family  settle 
ments  the  young  couple  might  have  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  a  year,  or  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
The  decision  was  unanimous  that  they  could  get  along 
very  well  and  maintain  their  position  on  this  sum  and  be 
able  to  reciprocate  reasonably  the  attentions  they  would 
receive.  Nothing  could  better  illustrate  the  terrific  in- 
creasQ  in  the  cost  of  living  than  the  contrast  between 
then  and  now. 

Some  one  of  the  guests  at  the  dinner  said  that  the 
Americans  by  the  introduction  of  slang  were  ruining  the 
English  language.  Mr.  James  Russell  Lowell  had  come 
evidently  prepared  for  this  controversy.  He  said  that 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD        263 

American  slang  was  the  common  language  of  that  part 
of  England  from  which  the  Pilgrims  sailed,  and  that  it 
had  been  preserved  in  certain  parts  of  the  United  States, 
notably  northern  New  England.  He  then  produced  an 
old  book,  a  sort  of  dictionary  of  that  period,  and  proved 
his  case.  It  was  a  surprise  to  everybody  to  know  that 
American  slang  was  really  classic  English,  and  still 
spoken  in  the  remoter  parts  of  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire,  though  no  longer  in  use  in  England. 

The  period  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  reign  as  prime  minister 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  for  an  American  visitor 
who  had  the  privilege  of  knowing  him  and  the  eminent 
men  who  formed  his  Cabinet.  The  ladies  of  the  Cabinet 
entertained  lavishly  and  superbly.  A  great  favorite  at 
these  social  gatherings  was  Miss  Margot  Tennant,  after 
wards  Mrs.  Asquith.  Her  youth,  her  wit,  her  originality 
and  audacity  made  every  function  a  success  which  was 
graced  by  her  presence. 

The  bitterness  towards  Mr.  Gladstone  of  the  opposi 
tion  party  surpassed  anything  I  have  met  in  American 
politics,  except  during  the  Civil  War.  At  dinners  and 
receptions  given  me  by  my  friends  of  the  Tory  party  I 
was  supposed  as  an  American  to  be  friendly  to  Mr.  Glad 
stone  and  Home  Rule.  I  do  not  know  whether  this  was 
the  reason  or  whether  it  was  usual,  but  on  such  occasions 
the  denunciation  of  Mr.  Gladstone  as  a  traitor  and  the 
hope  of  living  to  see  him  executed  was  very  frequent. 

I  remember  one  important  public  man  who  was 
largely  interested  and  a  good  deal  of  a  power  in  Cana 
dian  and  American  railroads.  He  asked  a  friend  of  mine 
to  arrange  for  me  to  meet  him.  I  found  him  a  most 
agreeable  man  and  very  accurately  informed  on  the  rail 
way  situation  in  Canada  and  the  United  States.  He 


264  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

was  preparing  for  a  visit,  and  so  wanted  me  to  fill  any 
gaps  there  might  be  in  his  knowledge  of  the  situation. 

Apropos  of  the  political  situation  at  the  time,  he  sud 
denly  asked  me  what  was  the  attitude  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  towards  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  Home 
Rule  bill.  I  told  him  they  were  practically  unanimous 
in  favor  of  the  bill,  and  that  Mr.  Gladstone  was  the  most 
popular  Englishman  in  the  United  States.  He  at  once 
flew  into  a  violent  rage,  the  rarest  thing  in  the  world  for 
an  Englishman,  and  lost  control  of  his  temper  to  such  a 
degree  that  I  thought  the  easiest  way  to  dam  the  flood 
of  his  denunciation  was  to  plead  another  engagement 
and  retire  from  the  field.  I  met  him  frequently  after 
wards,  especially  when  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
but  carefully  avoided  his  pet  animosity. 

One  year,  in  the  height  of  the  crisis  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
effort  to  pass  the  Home  Rule  bill,  a  member  of  his  Cabi 
net  said  to  me:  "We  of  the  Cabinet  are  by  no  means 
unanimous  in  believing  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  effort,  but  he 
is  the  greatest  power  in  our  country.  The  people  im 
plicitly  believe  in  him  and  we  are  helping  all  we  can." 

It  is  well  known  that  one  after  another  broke  away 
from  him  in  time.  The  same  Cabinet  minister  contin 
ued:  "Mr.  Gladstone  has  gone  to  the  extreme  limit  in 
concessions  made  in  his  Home  Rule  bill,  and  he  can 
carry  the  English,  Scotch,  and  Welsh  members.  But 
every  time  the  Irish  seem  to  be  satisfied,  they  make  a 
new  demand  and  a  greater  one.  Unless  this  stops  and 
the  present  bill  is  accepted,  the  whole  scheme  will  break 
down.  Many  of  the  Irish  members  are  supported  by 
contributions  from  America.  Their  occupation  is  poli 
tics.  If  Home  Rule  should  be  adopted  the  serious  peo 
ple  of  Ireland,  whose  economic  interests  are  at  stake, 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD        265 

might  come  to  the  front  and  take  all  representative 
offices  themselves.  We  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  enough  of  the  Irish  members  to  defeat  the  bill  do 
not  want  Home  Rule  on  any  conditions.  I  know  h  is  a 
custom  when  you  arrive  home  every  year  that  your 
friends  meet  you  down  the  Bay  and  give  you  a  reception. 
Then  you  give  an  interview  of  your  impressions  over 
here,  and  that  interview  is  printed  as  widely  in  this 
country  as  in  the  United  States.  Now  I  wish  you  would 
do  this:  At  the  reception  put  in  your  own  way  what  I 
have  told  you,  and  especially  emphasize  that  Mr.  Glad 
stone  is  imperilling  his  political  career  and  whole  future 
for  the  sake  of  what  he  believes  would  be  justice  to 
Ireland.  He  cannot  go  any  further  and  hold  his  Eng 
lish,  Scotch,  and  Welsh  constituencies.  He  believes 
that  he  can  pass  the  present  bill  and  start  Ireland  on  a 
career  of  Home  Rule  if  he  can  receive  the  support  of 
the  Irish  members.  The  Americans  who  believe  in  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  are  all  honest  Home  Rulers  will  think 
this  is  an  indirect  message  from  himself,  and  it  would 
be  if  it  were  prudent  for  Mr.  Gladstone  to  send  the  mes- 
sage." 

On  my  return  to  New  York  I  did  as  requested.  The 
story  was  published  and  commented  on  everywhere,  and 
whether  it  was  due  to  American  insistence  or  not,  I  do 
not  know,  but  shortly  after  Mr.  Gladstone  succeeded  in 
carrying  his  Home  Rule  bill  through  the  House  of  Com 
mons,  but  it  was  defeated  by  the  Conservatives  in  the 
House  of  Lords. 

His  Irish  policy  is  a  tribute  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  judg 
ment  and  foresight,  because  in  the  light  and  conditions 
of  to-day  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  if  the  Gladstone  mea 
sure  had  been  adopted  at  that  time,  the  Irish  question 


266  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

would  not  now  be  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous  in 
British,  politics. 

I  had  many  talks  with  Mr.  Parnell  and  made  many 
speeches  in  his  behalf  and  later  for  Mr.  Redmond.  I 
asked  him  on  one  occasion  if  the  Irish  desired  complete 
independence  and  the  formation  of  an  independent  gov 
ernment.  He  answered:  "No,  we  want  Home  Rule,  but 
to  retain  our  connection  in  a  way  with  the  British  Empire. 
The  military,  naval,  and  civil  service  of  the  British 
Empire  gives  great  opportunities  for  our  young  men. 
Ireland  in  proportion  to  its  population  is  more  largely 
represented  in  these  departments  of  the  British  Govern 
ment  than  either  England,  Scotland,  or  Wales." 

Incidental  to  the  division  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  Cabi 
net,  which  had  not  at  this  time  broken  out,  was  the 
great  vogue  which  a  story  of  mine  had.  I  was  dining 
with  Earl  Spencer.  He  had  been  lord  lieutenant  of  Ire 
land  and  was  very  popular.  His  wife  especially  had 
been  as  great  a  success  as  the  vice-regent.  He  was 
called  the  Red  Earl  because  of  his  flowing  auburn  beard. 
He  was  a  very  serious  man,  devoted  to  the  public  ser 
vice  and  exceedingly  capable.  He  almost  adored  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  grieved  over  the  growing  opposition  in 
the  Cabinet. 

The  guests  at  the  dinner  were  all  Gladstonians  and 
lamenting  these  differences  and  full  of  apprehension  that 
they  might  result  in  a  split  in  the  party.  The  earl  asked 
me  if  we  ever  had  such  conditions  in  the  United  States. 
I  answered:  "Yes."  Mr.  Elaine,  at  that  time  at  the  head 
of  President  Harrison's  Cabinet  as  secretary  of  state, 
had  very  serious  differences  with  his  chief,  and  the 
people  wondered  why  he  remained.  Mr.  Elaine  told 
me  this  story  apropos  of  the  situation:  The  author  of  a 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        267 

play  invited  a  friend  of  his  to  witness  the  first  produc 
tion  and  sent  him  a  complimentary  ticket.  During  the 
first  act  there  were  signs  of  disapproval,  which  during 
the  second  act  broke  out  into  a  riot.  An  excited  man 
sitting  alongside  the  guest  of  the  playwright  said:  "Stran 
ger,  are  you  blind  or  deaf,  or  do  you  approve  of  the 
play?"  The  guest  replied:  "My  friend,  my  sentiments 
and  opinion  in  regard  to  this  play  do  not  differ  from 
yours  and  the  rest,  but  I  am  here  on  a  free  ticket.  If 
you  will  wait  a  little  while  till  I  go  out  and  buy  a  ticket, 
I  will  come  back  and  help  you  raise  hell." 

The  most  brilliant  member  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Cabinet 
and  one  of  the  most  accomplished,  versatile,  and  elo 
quent  men  in  Great  Britain  was  Lord  Rosebery.  I  saw 
much  of  him  when  he  was  foreign  minister  and  also  after 
he  became  prime  minister.  Lord  Rosebery  was  not  only 
a  great  debater  on  political  questions,  he  was  also  the 
most  scholarly  orator  of  his  country  on  educational,  lit 
erary,  and  patriotic  subjects.  He  gathered  about  him 
always  the  people  whom  a  stranger  pre-eminently  de 
sired  to  meet. 

I  recall  one  of  my  week-end  visits  to  his  home  at 
Mentmore,  which  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  my 
reminiscences  abroad.  He  had  taken  down  there  the 
leaders  of  his  party.  The  dinner  lasted,  the  guests  all 
being  men,  except  Lady  Rosebery,  who  presided,  until 
after  twelve  o'clock.  Every  one  privileged  to  be  there 
felt  that  those  four  hours  had  passed  more  quickly  and 
entertainingly  than  any  in  their  experience. 

It  was  a  beautiful  moonlight  night  and  the  very  best 
of  English  weather,  and  we  adjourned  to  the  terrace. 
There  were  recalled  personal  experiences,  incidents  of 
travel  from  men  who  had  been  all  over  the  world  and  in 


268  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

critical  situations  in  many  lands,  diplomatic  secrets  re 
vealing  crises  seriously  threatening  European  wars,  and 
how  these  had  been  averted,  alliances  made  and  terri 
tories  acquired,  adventures  of  thrilling  interest  and  per 
sonal  episodes  surpassing  fiction.  The  company  reluc 
tantly  separated  when  the  rising  sun  admonished  them 
that  the  night  had  passed. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  the  guest  of  emi 
nent  men  in  many  lands  and  on  occasions  of  memorable 
interest,  but  •  the  rarest  privilege  for  any  one  was  to  be 
the  guest  of  Lord  Rosebery,  either  at  his  city  house  or 
one  of  his  country  residences.  The  wonderful  charm  of 
the  host,  his  tact  with  his  guests,  his  talent  for  drawing 
people  out  and  making  them  appear  at  their  best,  linger 
In  their  memories  as  red-letter  days  and  nights  of  their 
lives. 

All  Americans  took  great  interest  in  the  career  of  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill.  His  wife  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  popular  women  in  English  society,  and  an 
American.  I  knew  her  father,  Leonard  Jerome,  very 
well.  He  was  a  successful  banker  and  a  highly  educated 
and  cultured  gentleman.  His  brother,  William  Jerome, 
was  for  a  long  time  the  best  story-teller  and  one  of  the 
wittiest  of  New  Yorkers. 

Lord  Randolph  Churchill  advanced  very  rapidly  in 
British  politics  and  became  not  only  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  debaters  but  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  On  one  of  my  visits  abroad  I  received  an 
invitation  from  the  Churchills  to  visit  them  at  their 
country  place.  When  I  arrived  I  found  that  they  occu 
pied  a  castle  built  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and 
in  which  few  modern  alterations  had  been  made.  It 
was  historically  a  very  unique  and  interesting  structure. 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD        269 

Additions  had  been  made  to  it  by  succeeding  genera 
tions,  each  being  another  house  with  its  own  methods 
of  ingress  and  egress.  Lord  Randolph  said:  "I  welcome 
you  to  my  ancestral  home,  which  I  have  rented  for  three 
months." 

Though  this  temporary  residence  was  very  ancient, 
yet  its  hospitalities  were  dispensed  by  one  of  the  most 
up-to-date  and  progressive  couples  in  the  kingdom.  In 
the  intimacy  of  a  house-party,  not  too  large,  one  could 
enjoy  the  versatility,  the  charm,  the  wide  information, 
the  keen  political  acumen  of  this  accomplished  and  mag 
netic  British  statesman.  It  was  unfortunate  for  his 
country  that  from  overwork  he  broke  down  so  early  in 
life. 

No  one  during  his  period  could  surpass  Baron  Alfred 
Rothschild  as  host.  His  dinners  in  town,  followed  by 
exquisite  musicales,  were  the  social  events  of  every  sea 
son.  He  was,  however,  most  attractive  at  his  superb 
place  in  the  country.  A  week-end  with  him  there  met 
the  best  traditions  of  English  hospitality.  In  the  party 
were  sure  to  be  men  and  women  of  distinction,  and  just 
the  ones  whom  an  American  had  read  about  and  was 
anxious  to  meet. 

Baron  Rothschild  was  a  famous  musician  and  an 
ardent  lover  of  music.  He  had  at  his  country  place  a 
wonderfully  trained  orchestra  of  expert  musicians.  In 
the  theatre  he  gave  concerts  for  the  enjoyment  of  his 
guests,  and  led  the  orchestra  himself.  Among  the  com- 
pany  was  sure  to  be  one  or  more  of  the  most  famous 
artists  from  the  opera  at  Covent  Garden,  and  from  these 
experts  his  own  leadership  and  the  performance  of  his 
perfectly  trained  company  received  unstinted  praise  and 
applause.  Baron  Rothschild  had  the  art  so  necessary 


27o  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

for  the  enjoyment  of  his  guests  of  getting  together  the 
right  people.  He  never  risked  the  harmony  of  his  house 
by  inviting  antagonists. 

Lord  Rothschild,  the  head  of  the  house,  differed 
entirely  from  his  amiable  and  accomplished  brother. 
While  he  also  entertained,  his  mind  was  engrossed  in 
business  and  affairs.  I  had  a  conference  with  him  at 
the  time  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  which  might 
have  been  of  historical  importance.  He  asked  me  to 
come  and  see  him  in  the  Rothschild  banking-house, 
where  the  traditions  of  a  century  are  preserved  and  un 
changed.  He  said  to  me:  "We  have  been  for  a  long  time 
the  bankers  of  Spain.  We  feel  the  responsibility  for 
their  securities,  which  we  have  placed  upon  the  market. 
The  United  States  is  so  all-powerful  in  its  resources  and 
spirit  that  it  can  crush  Spain.  This  we  desire  to  avert. 
Spain,  though  weak  and  poor  compared  to  the  United 
States,  has  nevertheless  the  proudest  people  in  the 
world,  and  it  is  a  question  of  Spanish  pride  we  have,  to 
deal  with." 

In  answering  him  I  said:  "Lord  Rothschild,  it  seems 
to  me  that  if  you  had  any  proposition  you  should  take 
it  to  Mr.  John  Hay,  our  accomplished  minister." 

"No,"  he  said;  "then  it  would  become  a  matter  of 
diplomacy  and  publicity.  Now  the  Spanish  Govern 
ment  is  willing  to  comply  with  every  demand  the  United 
States  can  make.  The  government  is  willing  to  grant 
absolute  independence  to  Cuba,  or  what  it  would  prefer, 
a  self-governing  colony,  with  relations  like  that  of  Can 
ada  to  Great  Britain.  Spain  is  willing  to  give  to  the 
United  States  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippine  Islands, 
but  she  must  know  beforehand  if  these  terms  will  be 
accepted  before  making  the  offer,  because  if  an  offer  so 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    271 

great  as  this  and  involving  such  a  loss  of  territory  and 
prestige  should  be  rejected  by  the  United  States  there 
would  be  a  revolution  in  Spain  which  might  overthrow 
not  only  the  government  but  the  monarchy.  What 
would  be  regarded  as  an  insult  would  be  resented  by 
every  Spaniard  to  the  bitter  end.  That  is  why  I  have 
asked  you  to  come  and  wish  you  to  submit  this  proposi 
tion  to  your  president.  Of  course,  I  remain  in  a  posi 
tion,  if  there  should  be  any  publicity  about  it,  to  deny 
the  whole  thing." 

The  proposition  unfortunately  came  too  late,  and  Mr. 
McKinley  could  not  stop  the  war.  It  was  well  known  in 
Washington  that  he  was  exceedingly  averse  to  hostilities 
and  believed  the  difficulties  could  be  satisfactorily  set 
tled  by  diplomacy,  but  the  people  were  aroused  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  were  determined  not  only  to  free 
Cuba  but  to  punish  those  who  were  oppressing  the 
Cubans. 

One  incident  which  received  little  publicity  at  the  time 
was  in  all  probability  the  match  which  fired  the  magazine. 
One  of  the  ablest  and  most  level-headed  members  of  the 
Senate  was  Senator  Redfield  Proctor,  of  Vermont.  The 
solidity  of  his  character  and  acquirements  and  his  known 
sense  and  conservatism  made  him  a  power  in  Congress, 
and  he  had  the  confidence  of  the  people.  He  visited 
Cuba  and  wrote  a  report  in  which  he  detailed  as  an  eye 
witness  the  atrocities  which  the  government  and  the 
soldiers  were  perpetrating.  He  read  this  report  to  Mr. 
McKinley  and  Senator  Hanna.  They  both  said:  "Sen 
ator  Proctor,  if  you  read  that  to  the  Senate,'  our  negotia 
tions  end  and  war  is  inevitable." 

The  president  requested  the  senator  to  delay  reporting 
to  the  Senate.  The  excitement  and  interest  in  that  body 


272  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

were  never  more  unanimous  and  intense.  I  doubt  if  any 
senator  could  have  resisted  this  rare  opportunity  not 
only  to  be  the  centre  of  the  stage  but  to  occupy  the 
whole  platform.  Senator  Proctor  made  his  report  and 
the  country  was  aflame. 

One  summer  I  arrived  in  London  and  was  suffering  from 
a  fearful  attack  of  muscular  rheumatism.  I  knew  per 
fectly  well  that  I  had  brought  it  on  myself  by  overwork. 
I  had  suffered  several  attacks  before,  but  this  one  was 
so  acute  that  I  consulted  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  at  that 
time  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  British  medical  pro 
fession.  He  made  a  thorough  examination  and  with 
most  satisfactory  result  as  to  every  organ. 

"With  your  perfect  constitution,"  he  said,  "this 
attack  is  abnormal.  Now  tell  me  of  your  day  and  every 
day  at  home.  Begin  with  breakfast." 

"I  breakfast  at  a  quarter  of  eight,"  I  said. 

"Then,"  continued  the  doctor,  "give  me  the  whole 
day." 

"I  arrive  at  my  office,"  I  said,  "at  nine.  Being  presi 
dent  of  a  great  railway  company,  there  is  a  large  corre 
spondence  to  be  disposed  of.  I  see«the  heads  of  the  dif 
ferent  departments  and  get  in  touch  with  every  branch 
of  the  business.  Then  I  meet  committees  of  chambers 
of  commerce  or  shippers,  or  of  employees  who  have  a 
grievance,  and  all  this  will  occupy  me  until  five  o'clock, 
when  I  go  home.  I  take  a  very  short  lunch,  often  at 
my  desk,  to  save  time.  On  arriving  home  I  take  a  nap 
of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  look  over  my  engage 
ments  for  the  evening.  If  it  is  a  speech,  which  will 
probably  happen  four  evenings  in  a  week,  I  prepare  in 
the  next  hour 'and  then  deliver  it  at  some  public  banquet 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        273 

or  hall.  If  I  have  accepted  a  formal  address  or,  as  we 
call  them  in  America,  orations,  it  is  ground  out  on  odd 
evenings,  Sunday  afternoon  and  night." 

The  doctor  turned  to  me  abruptly  and  said:  "You 
ought  to  be  dead.  Now,  you  have  the  most  perfect  con 
stitution  and  less  impaired  than  any  I  have  examined  at 
your  time  of  life.  If  you  will  follow  the  directions  which 
I  give  you,  you  can  be  perfectly  well  and  sound  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred.  If  you  continue  your  present  life 
until  seventy,  you  will  have  a  nervous  breakdown,  and 
thereafter  become  a  nuisance  to  yourself  and  everybody 
else.  I  advise  absolute  rest  at  a  remote  place  in  Switzer 
land.  There  you  will  receive  no  newspapers,  and  you 
will  hear  nothing  from  the  outside  world.  You  will 
meet  there  only  English  who  are  seeking  health,  and 
they  will  not  speak  to  you.  Devote  your  day  to  walk 
ing  over  the  mountains,  adding  to  your  tramp  as  your 
strength  increases,  and  lie  for  hours  on  the  bank  of  a 
quiet  stream  there,  and  be  intensely  interested  as  you 
throw  pebbles  into  it  to  see  how  wide  you  can  make 
the  circles  from  the  spot  where  the  pebble  strikes  the 
water." 

I  thought  I  understood  my  temperament  better  than 
the  doctor,  and  that  any  rest  for  me  was  not  solitude 
but  entire  change  of  occupation.  So  I  remained  in  Lon 
don  and  lunched  and  dined  out  every  day  for  several 
weeks,  with  a  week-end  over  every  Sunday.  In  other 
ways,  however,  I  adopted  the  doctor's  directions  and 
not  only  returned  home  cured,  but  have  been  free  from 
rheumatism  ever  since. 

I  was  in  London  at  both  the  queen's  fiftieth  anniver 
sary  of  her  reign  and  her  jubilee.  The  reverence  and 
love  the  English  people  had  for  Queen  Victoria  was  a 


274  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

wonderful  exhibition  of  her  wisdom  as  a  sovereign  and 
of  her  charm  and  character  as  a  woman.  The  sixty 
years  of  her  reign  were  a  wonderful  epoch  in  the  growth 
of  her  empire  and  in  its  relations  to  the  world. 

Once  I  said  to  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  who,  as  min 
ister  of  foreign  affairs  had  been  brought  in  close  contact 
with  the  queen:  "I  am  very  much  impressed  with  the 
regard  which  the  people  have  for  Queen  Victoria.  What 
is  her  special  function  in  your  scheme  of  government?" 

"She  is  invaluable,"  he  answered,  "to  every  prime 
minister  and  the  Cabinet.  The  prime  minister,  after 
the  close  of  the  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  every 
night,  writes  the  queen  a  full  report  of  what  has  occurred 
at  that  session.  This  has  been  going  on  for  more  than 
half  a  century.  The  queen  reads  these  accounts  care 
fully  and  has  a  most  retentive  memory.  If  these  com 
munications  of  the  prime  ministers  were  ever  available 
to  the  public,  they  would  present  a  remarkable  contrast 
of  the  minds  and  the  methods  of  different  prime  min 
isters  and  especially  those  two  extreme  opposites,  Glad 
stone  and  Disraeli.  The  queen  did  not  like  Gladstone, 
because  she  said  he  always  preached,  but  she  had  an 
intense  admiration  for  Disraeli,  who  threw  into  his 
nightly  memoranda  all  his  skill  not  only  as  a  statesman 
but  a  novelist.  The  queen  also  has  been  consulted  dur 
ing  all  these  years  on  every  crisis,  domestic  or  foreign, 
and  every  matter  of  Cabinet  importance.  The  result  is 
that  she  is  an  encyclopaedia.  Very  often  there  will  be  a 
dispute  with  some  of  the  great  powers  or  lesser  ones, 
which  is  rapidly  growing  to  serious  proportions.  We 
can  find  no  report  of  its  beginning.  The  queen,  how 
ever,  will  remember  just  when  the  difficulty  began,  and 
why  it  was  pushed  aside  and  not  settled,  and  who  were 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        275 

the  principal  actors  in  the  negotiations.  With  that 
data  we  often  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  settlement." 

I  remember  one  garden-party  at  Buckingham  Palace. 
The  day  was  perfect  and  the  attendance  phenomenally 
large  and  distinguished.  While  there  were  places  on 
the  grounds  where  a  luncheon  was  served,  the  guests 
neglected  these  places  and  gathered  about  a  large  tent 
where  the  royalties  had  their  refreshments.  It  was  an 
intense  curiosity,  not  so  much  to  see  their  sovereign  eat 
and  drink,  as  to  improve  the  opportunity  to  reverently 
gaze  upon  her  at  close  range.  The  queen  called  various 
people  whom  she  knew  from  this  circle  of  onlookers  for 
a  familiar  talk. 

When  the  luncheon  was  served  the  attendant  pro 
duced  an  immense  napkin,  which  she  spread  over  herself, 
almost  from  her  neck  to  the  bottom  of  her  dress.  A 
charming  English  lady,  who  stood  beside  me,  said:  "I 
know  you  are  laughing  at  the  economy  of  our  Queen." 

"On  the  contrary,"  I  said,  "I  am  admiring  an  example 
of  carefulness  and  thrift  which,  if  it  could  be  universally 
known,  would  be  of  as  great  benefit  in  the  United  States 
as  in  Great  Britain." 

"Well,"  she  continued,  "I  do  wish  that  the  dear  old 
lady  was  not  quite  so  careful." 

At  a  period  when  the  lives  of  the  continental  rulers 
were  in  great  peril  from  revolutionists  and  assassins,  the 
queen  on  both  her  fiftieth  anniversary  and  her  jubilee 
rode  in  an  open  carriage  through  many  miles  of  London 
streets,  with  millions  of  spectators  on  either  side  pressing 
closely  upon  the  procession,  and  there  was  never  a 
thought  that  she  was  in  the  slightest  danger.  She  was 
fearless  herself,  but  she  had  on  the  triple  armor  of  the 
overmastering  love  and  veneration  of  the  whole  people. 


276  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Americans  remembered  that  in  the  crisis  of  our  Civil 
War  it  was  the  influence  of  the  queen,  more  than  any 
other,  which  prevented  Great  Britain  recognizing  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 

Among  the  incidents  of  her  jubilee  was  the  greatest 
naval  demonstration  ever  known.  The  fleets  of  Great 
Britain  were  summoned  from  all  parts  of  the  globe  and 
anchored  in  a  long  and  imposing  line  in  the  English 
Channel.  Mr.  Ismay,  at  that  time  the  head  of  the 
White  Star  Line,  took  the  Teutonic,  which  had  just  been 
built  and  was  not  yet  in  regular  commission,  as  his  pri 
vate  yacht.  He  had  on  board  a  notable  company,  rep 
resenting  the  best,  both  of  men  and  women,  of  English 
life.  He  was  the  most  generous  of  hosts,  and  every  care 
taken  for  the  individual  comfort  of  his  guests.  In  the 
intimacy  for  several  days  of  such  an  excursion  we  all 
became  very  well  acquainted.  There  were  speeches  at 
the  dinners  and  dances  afterwards  on  the  deck  for  the 
younger  people.  The  war-ships  were  illuminated  at 
night  by  electric  lights,  and  the  launch  of  the  Teutonic 
took  us  down  one  lane  and  up  another  through  the  long 
lines  of  these  formidable  defenders  of  Great  Britain. 

One  day  there  was  great  excitement  when  a  war-ship 
steamed  into  our  midst  and  it  was  announced  that  it  was 
the  German  emperor's.  Even  as  early  as  that  he  excited 
in  the  English  mind  both  curiosity  and  apprehension. 
One  of  the  frequent  questions  put  to  me,  both  then  and 
for  years  afterwards  at  English  dinners,  was:  "What  do 
you  think  of  the  German  emperor?" 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  came  on  to  the  Teutonic 
with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  King  Edward  VII. 
The  prince  knew  many  of  the  company  and  was  most 
cordial  all  around.  The  emperor  was  absorbed  in  an 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        277 

investigation  of  this  new  ship  and  her  possibilities  both 
in  the  mercantile  marine  and  as  a  cruiser.  I  heard  him 
say  to  the  captain:  "How  are  you  armed?"  The  cap 
tain  told  him  that  among  his  equipment  he  had  a  new 
invention,  a  quick-firing  gun.  The  emperor  was  imme 
diately  greatly  excited.  He  examined  the  gun  and  ques 
tioned  its  qualities  and  possibilities  until  he  was  master 
of  every  detail.  Then  he  turned  to  one  of  his  officers 
and  gave  a  quick  order  that  the  gun  should  be  immedi 
ately  investigated  and  all  that  were  required  should  be 
provided  for  Germany. 

I  heard  a  picturesque  story  from  a  member  of  the 
court,  of  Queen  Victoria's  interest  in  all  public  affairs. 
There  was  then,  as  there  is  generally  in  European  rela 
tions,  some  talk  of  war.  The  queen  was  staying  at  her 
castle  at  Osborne  on  the  Isle  of  Wight.  He  said  she 
drove  alone  down  to  the  shore  one  night  and  sat  there 
a  long  time  looking  at  this  great  fleet,  which  was  the 
main  protection  of  her  empire  and  her  people.  It  would 
be  interesting  if  one  could  know  what  were  her  thoughts, 
her  fears,  and  her  hopes. 

The  queen  was  constantly  assisting  the  government  in 
the  maintenance  of  friendly  relations  with  foreign  powers 
by  entertaining  their  representatives  at  Windsor  Castle. 
When  General  Grant,  after  he  retired  from  the  presi 
dency,  made  his  trip  around  the  world,  the  question 
which  disturbed  our  American  minister,  when  General 
Grant  arrived  in  London,  was  how  he  could  be  properly 
received  and  recognized.  Of  course,  under  our  usage, 
he  had  become  a  private  citizen,  and  was  no  more  en 
titled  to  official  recognition  than  any  other  citizen.  This 
was  well  known  in  the  diplomatic  circles.  When  the 
ambassadors  and  ministers  of  foreign  countries  in  Lon- 


278  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

don  were  appealed  to,  they  unanimously  said  that  as 
they  represented  their  sovereigns  they  could  not  yield 
precedence  to  General  Grant,  but  he  must  sit  at  the  foot 
of  the  table.  The  Prince  of  Wales  solved  this  question 
with  his  usual  tact  and  wisdom.  Under  the  recognized 
usage  at  any  entertainment,  the  Prince  of  Wales  can 
select  some  person  as  his  special  guest  to  sit  at  his  right, 
and,  therefore,  precede  everybody  else.  The  prince 
made  this  suggestion  to  our  minister  and  performed  this 
courteous  act  at  all  functions  given  to  General  Grant. 
Queen  Victoria  supplemented  this  by  extending  the  same 
invitation  to  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  to  dine  and  spend 
the  night  with  her  at  Windsor  Castle,  which  was  ex 
tended  only  to  visiting  royalty. 

I  remember  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  hold 
ing  its  annual  meeting  and  commemoration  at  one  of 
our  cities  when  the  cable  announced  that  General  Grant 
was  being  entertained  by  Queen  Victoria  at  Windsor 
Castle.  The  conventions  of  diplomacy,  which  requires 
all  communications  to  pass  through  the  ambassador  of 
one's  country  to  the  foreign  minister  of  another  country 
before  it  can  reach  the  sovereign  were  not  known  to 
these  old  soldiers,  so  they  cabled  a  warm  message  to 
General  Grant,  care  of  Queen  Victoria,  Windsor  Castle, 
England. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  bits  of  humor  in  my  recol 
lections  of  journalistic  enterprise  was  an  editorial  by  a 
Mr.  Alden,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  New  York  Times. 
Mr.  Alden  described  with  great  particularity,  as  if  giv 
ing  the  details  of  the  occurrence,  that  the  messenger-boy 
arrived  at  Windsor  Castle  during  the  night  and  rang 
the  front  door-bell;  that  Her  Majesty  called  out  of  the 
window  in  quite  American  style,  "Who  is  there?"  and 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        279 

the  messenger-boy  shouted,  "Cable  for  General  Grant. 
Is  he  staying  at  this  house?"  I  can  only  give  a  sugges 
tion  of  Alden's  fun,  which  shook  the  whole  country. 

One  of  the  court  officers  said  to  me  during  the  jubilee: 
"Royalties  are  here  from  every  country,  and  among 
those  who  have  come  over  is  Liliuokalani,  Queen  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  She  is  as  insistent  of  her  royal  rights 
as  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  We  have  consented  that 
she  should  be  a  guest  at  a  dinner  of  our  queen  and  spend 
the  night  at  Windsor  Castle.  We  have  settled  her  place 
among  the  royalties  in  the  procession  through  London 
and  offered  her  the  hussars  as  her  guard  of  honor.  She 
insists,  however,  that  she  shall  have  the  same  as  the 
other  kings,  a  company  of  the  guards.  Having  recog 
nized  her,  we  are  obliged  to  yield."  The  same  officer 
told  me  that  at  the  dinner  the  dusky  queen  said  to 
Queen  Victoria:  "Your  Majesty,  I  am  a  blood  relative 
of  yours." 

"How  so?"  was  the  queen's  astonished  answer. 

"Why,"  said  Liliuokalani,  "my  grandfather  ate  your 
Captain  Cook." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  many  distinguished 
men  who  were  either  guests  on  the  Teutonic  or  visited  us 
was  Admiral  Lord  Charles  Beresford.  He  was  a  typical 
sailor  of  the  highest  class  and  very  versatile.  He  made 
a  good  speech,  either  social  or  political,  and  was  a  de 
lightful  companion  on  all  occasions.  He  had  remark 
able  adventures  all  over  the  world,  and  was  a  word 
painter  of  artistic  power.  He  knew  America  well  and 
was  very  sympathetic  with  our  ideals.  I  met  him  many 
times  in  many  relations  and  always  with  increasing 
regard  and  esteem. 


280  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

I  was  entertained  by  Lord  Beresford  once  in  the  most 
original  way.  He  had  a  country  place  about  an  hour 
from  London  and  invited  me  to  come  down  on  a  Sunday 
afternoon  and  meet  some  friends.  It  was  a  delightful 
garden-party  on  an  ideal  English  summer  day.  He 
pressed  me  to  stay  for  dinner,  saying:  "There  will  be  a 
few  friends  coming,  whom  I  am  anxious  for  you  to 
know." 

The  friends  kept  coming,  and  after  a  while  Lady 
Beresford  said  to  him:  "We  have  set  all  the  tables  we 
have  and  the  dining-room  and  the  adjoining  room  can 
hold.  How  many  have  you  invited?" 

The  admiral  answered:  "I  cannot  remember,  but  if 
we  delay  the  dinner  until  a  quarter  of  nine,  I  am  sure 
they  will  all  be  here." 

When  we  sat  down  we  numbered  over  fifty.  Lord 
Charles's  abounding  and  irresistible  hospitality  had  in 
cluded  everybody  whom  he  had  met  the  day  before. 

The  butler  came  to  Lord  Charles  shortly  after  we  sat 
down  and  said:  "My  lord,  it  is  Sunday  night,  and  the 
shops  are  all  closed.  We  can  add  nothing  to  what  we 
have  in  the  house,  and  the  soup  has  given  out." 

"Well,"  said  this  admirable  strategist,  "commence 
with  those  for  whom  you  have  no  soup  with  the  fish. 
When  the  fish  gives  out,  start  right  on  with  the  next 
course,  and  so  to  the  close  of  the  dinner.  In  that  way 
everybody  will  get  something." 

After  a  while  the  butler  again  approached  the  admiral 
and  said:  "My  lord,  the  champagne  is  all  gone." 

"Well,"  said  Lord  Charles,  "start  in  on  cider." 

It  was  a  merry  company,  and  they  all  caught  on  to 
the  situation.  The  result  was  one  of  the  most  hilarious, 
enjoyable,  and  original  entertainments  of  my  life.  It 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD   281 

lasted  late,  and  everybody  with  absolute  sincerity  de 
clared  he  or  she  had  had  the  best  time  ever. 

I  was  asked  to  meet  Lord  John  Fisher,  in  a  way  a 
rival  of  Lord  Beresford.  Both  were  exceedingly  able 
and  brilliant  officers  and  men  of  achievement,  but  they 
were  absolutely  unlike;  one  had  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  Celt  and  the  other  of  the  Saxon. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  Lord  Fisher's 
talk,  especially  in  view  of  later  developments,  was  his 
description  of  the  discoveries  and  annexations  to  the 
British  Empire,  made  by  the  British  navy.  In  regard 
to  this  he  said:  "The  British  navy  had  been  acquiring 
positions  of  strategic  importance  to  the  safety  and 
growth  of  the  empire  from  time  immemorial,  and  some 
fool  of  a  prime  minister  on  a  pure  matter  of  sentiment  is 
always  giving  away  to  our  possible  enemies  one  or  the 
other  of  these  advantageous  positions."  He  referred 
especially  to  Heligoland,  the  gift  of  which  to  Germany 
had  taken  place  not  long  before.  If  Heligoland,  fortified 
like  Gibraltar,  had  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
British  Government,  Germany  would  not  have  ventured 
upon  the  late  war. 

Lord  Fisher  exemplified  what  I  have  often  met  with 
in  men  who  have  won  eminent  distinction  in  some  career, 
whose  great  desire  was  to  have  fame  in  another  and 
entirely  different  one.  Apparently  he  wished  his  friends 
and  those  he  met  to  believe  that  he  was  the  best  story 
teller  in  the  world;  that  he  had  the  largest  stock  of  origi 
nal  anecdotes  and  told  them  better  than  anybody  else. 
I  found  that  he  was  exceedingly  impatient  and  irritable 
when  any  one  else  started  the  inevitable  "that  reminds 
me,"  and  he  was  intolerant  with  the  story  the  other  was 
trying  to  tell.  But  I  discovered,  also,  that  most  of  his 


282  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

stories,  though  told  with  great  enthusiasm,  were  very 
fimiliar,  or,  as  we  Americans  would  say,  "chestnuts." 

During  my  summer  vacations  I  spent  two  weeks  or 
more  at  Homburg,  the  German  watering-place.  It  was 
at  that  time  the  most  interesting  resort  on  the  continent. 
The  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  King  Edward  VII,  was 
always  there,  and  his  sister,  the  Dowager  Empress  of 
Germany,  had  her  castle  within  a  few  miles.  It  was 
said  that  there  was  a  quorum  of  both  Houses  of  Parlia 
ment  in  Homburg  while  the  prince  was  there,  but  his 
presence  also  drew  representatives  from  every  depart 
ment  of  English  life,  the  bench  and  the  bar,  writers  of 
eminence  of  both  sexes,  distinguished  artists,  and  people 
famous  on  both  the  dramatic  and  the  operatic  stage. 
The  prince,  with  keen  discrimination,  had  these  interest 
ing  people  always  about  him.  There  were  also  social 
leaders,  whose  entertainments  were  famous  in  London, 
who  did  their  best  to  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  visit  of 
the  prince.  I  met  him  frequently  and  was  often  his 
guest  at  his  luncheons  and  dinners.  He  fell  in  at  once 
in  the  Homburg  way. 

The  routine  of  the  cure  was  to  be  at  the  springs  every 
morning  at  seven  o'clock,  to  take  a  glass  of  water,  walk 
half  an  hour  with  some  agreeable  companion,  and  repeat 
this  until  three  glasses  had  been  consumed.  Then 
breakfast,  and  after  that  the  great  bathing-house  at 
eleven  o'clock.  The  bathing-house  was  a  meeting-place 
for  everybody.  Another  meeting-place  was  the  open- 
air  concerts  in  the  afternoon.  In  the  evening  came  the 
formal  dinners  and  some  entertainment  afterwards. 

Both  for  luncheon  and  dinner  the  prince  always  had 
quite  a  large  company.  He  was  a  host  of  great  charm, 
tact,  and  character.  He  had  a  talent  of  drawing  out  the 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        283 

best  there  was  in  those  about  his  table,  and  especially  of 
making  the  occasion  very  agreeable  for  a  stranger.  Any 
one  at  his  entertainments  always  carried  away  either  in 
the  people  he  met  or  the  things  that  were  said,  or  both, 
permanent  recollections. 

I  do  not  think  the  prince  bothered  about  domestic 
questions.  He  was  very  observant  of  the  limitations 
and  restrictions  which  the  English  Government  imposes 
upon  royalty.  He  was,  however,  very  keen  upon  his 
country's  foreign  relations.  In  the  peace  of  Europe  he 
was  an  important  factor,  being  so  closely  allied  with  the 
imperial  houses  of  Germany  and  Russia.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  he  prevented  the  German  Emperor  from  ac 
quiring  a  dangerous  control  over  the  Czar.  He  was  very 
fixed  and  determined  to  maintain  and  increase  friendly 
relations  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
He  succeeded,  after  many  varied  and  long-continued 
efforts,  in  doing  away  with  the  prejudices  and  hostilities 
of  the  French  towards  the  English,  an  accomplishment 
of  infinite  value  to  his  country  in  these  later  years. 

I  was  told  that  the  prince  required  very  little  sleep, 
that  he  retired  to  bed  late  and  was  an  early  riser.  I 
was  awakened  one  night  by  his  equerry  calling  me  up, 
saying  the  prince  was  on  the  terrace  of  the  Kursaal  and 
wanted  to  see  me.  The  lights  were  all  out,  everybody 
had  gone,  and  he  was  sitting  alone  at  a  table  illuminated 
by  a  single  candle.  What  he  desired  was  to  discuss 
American  affairs  and  become  more  familiar  with  our 
public  men,  our  ideals,  our  policies,  and  especially  any 
causes  which  could  possibly  be  removed  of  irritation  be 
tween  his  own  country  and  ours.  This  discussion  lasted 
till  daylight. 

Meeting  him  on  the  street  one  day,  he  stopped  and 


284  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

asked  me  to  step  aside  into  an  opening  there  was  in  the 
hedge.  He  seemed  laboring  under  considerable  excite 
ment,  and  said:  "Why  do  the  people  in  the  United 
States  want  to  break  up  the  British  Empire?" 

I  knew  he  referred  to  the  Home  Rule  bill  for  Ireland, 
which  was  then  agitating  Parliament  and  the  country, 
and  also  the  frequent  demonstrations  in  its  favor  which 
were  occurring  in  the  United  States. 

I  said  to  him:  "Sir,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  single 
American  who  has  any  thought  of  breaking  up  the 
British  Empire.  We  are  wedded  to  the  federal  princi 
ple  of  independent  States,  which  are  sovereign  in  their 
local  affairs  and  home  matters,  but  on  everything  you 
call  imperial  the  United  States  is  supreme.  To  vindicate 
this  principle  we  fought  a  Civil  War,  in  which  we  lost 
more  lives,  spent  more  money,  destroyed  more  property, 
and  incurred  more  debt  than  any  contest  of  modern 
time.  The  success  of  the  government  has  been  so  com 
plete  that  the  States  which  were  in  rebellion  and  their 
people  are  quite  as  loyal  to  the  general  government  as 
those  who  fought  to  preserve  it.  The  prosperity  of  the 
country,  with  this  question  settled,  has  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  imagination.  So  Americans  think  of  your 
trouble  with  Ireland  in  terms  of  our  federated  States, 
and  believe  that  all  your  difficulties  could  be  adjusted  in 
the  same  way." 

We  had  a  long  discussion  in  which  he  asked  innu 
merable  questions,  and  never  referred  to  the  subject 
again.  I  heard  afterwards  among  my  English  friends 
that  he  who  had  been  most  hostile  was  becoming  a  Home 
Ruler. 

At  another  time  he  wanted  to  know  why  our  govern 
ment  had  treated  the  British  ambassador,  Lord  Sack- 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        285 

ville  West,  so  badly  and  ruined  his  career.  The  Sack- 
ville  West  incident  was  already  forgotten,  though  it  was 
the  liveliest  question  of  its  time. 

Cleveland  was  president  and  a  candidate  for  re-elec 
tion.  Sackville  West  was  the  British  ambassador.  A 
little  company  of  shrewd  Republican  politicians  in  Cali 
fornia  thought  if  they  could  get  an  admission  that  the 
British  Government  was  interfering  in  our  election  in 
favor  of  Cleveland,  it  would  be  a  fine  asset  in  the  cam 
paign,  and  so  they  wrote  to  Lord  Sackville  West,  telling 
him  they  were  Englishmen  who  had  become  naturalized 
American  citizens.  In  voting  they  were  anxious  to  vote 
for  the  side  which  would  be  best  for  their  native  land; 
would  he  kindly  and  very  confidentially  advise  them 
whether  to  support  the  Democratic  or  the  Republican 
ticket.  Sackville  West  swallowed  the  bait  without  in 
vestigation,  and  wrote  them  a  letter  advising  them  to 
vote  the  Democratic  ticket. 

There  never  had  been  such  consternation  in  diplo 
matic  circles  in  Washington.  Of  course,  Mr.  Cleveland 
and  his  supporters  had  to  get  out  from  under  the  situa 
tion  as  quickly  and  gracefully  as  possible. 

The  administration  instantly  demanded  that  the 
British  Government  should  recall  Lord  Sackville  West, 
which  was  done,  and  he  was  repudiated  for  his  activity 
in  American  politics.  It  was  curious  that  the  prince 
had  apparently  never  been  fully  informed  of  the  facts, 
but  had  been  misled  by  Sackville  West's  explanation, 
and  the  prince  was  always  loyal  to  a  friend. 

One  year  Mr.  James  G.  Blaine  visited  Homburg,  and 
the  prince  at  once  invited  him  to  luncheon.  Elaine's 
retort  to  a  question  delighted  every  American  in  the 
place.  One  of  the  guests  was  the  then  Duke  of  Man- 


286  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Chester,  an  old  man  and  a  great  Tory.  When  the  duke 
grasped  that  Elaine  was  a  leading  American  and  had 
been  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States, 
all  his  old  Toryism  was  aroused,  and  he  was  back  in  the 
days  of  George  III.  To  the  horror  of  the  prince,  the 
duke  said  to  Mr.  Elaine:  "The  most  outrageous  thing  in 
all  history  was  your  rebellion  and  separation  from  the 
best  government  on  earth."  He  said  much  more  before 
the  prince  could  stop  him. 

Elaine,  with  that  grace  and  tact  for  which  he  was  so 
famous,  smilingly  said:  "Well,  your  Grace,  if  George  III 
had  had  the  sense,  tact,  and  winning  qualities  of  his 
great-grandson,  our  host,  it  is  just  possible  that  we 
might  now  be  a  self-governing  colony  in  the  British 
Empire." 

The  answer  relieved  the  situation  and  immensely 
pleased  the  host.  Lord  Rosebery  once  said  in  a  speech 
that,  with  the  tremendous  growth  in  every  element  of 
greatness  of  the  United  States,  if  the  American  colonies 
had  remained  in  the  British  Empire,  with  their  pre 
ponderating  influence  and  prestige,  the  capital  of  Great 
Britain  might  have  been  moved  to  New  York  and  Buck 
ingham  Palace  rebuilt  in  Central  Park. 

At  another  dinner  one  of  the  guests  of  the  prince  sud 
denly  shot  at  me  across  the  table  the  startling  question: 
"Do  you  know  certain  American  heiresses" — naming 
them — "now  visiting  London?" 

I  answered  "Yes" — naming  one  especially,  a  very 
beautiful  and  accomplished  girl  who  was  quite  the  most 
popular  debutante  of  the  London  season. 

"How  much  has  she?"  he  asked. 

I  named  the  millions  which  she  would  probably  in 
herit.  "But,"  I  added,  "before  you  marry  an  American 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        287 

heiress,  you  better  be  sure  that  she  can  say  the  Lord's 
Prayer/' 

He  said  with  great  indignation  that  he  would  be 
astonished  if  any  American  girl  could  be  recognized  in 
English  society  who  had  been  so  badly  brought  up  that 
she  was  not  familiar  with  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

"All  of  them  are,"  I  replied,  "but  few  heiresses,  unless 
they  have  come  into  their  inheritance  and  can  say  'Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,'  will  inherit  much,  because 
American  fathers  are  very  speculative." 

He  continued  to  express  his  astonishment  at  this  lack 
of  religious  training  in  an  American  family,  while  the 
prince  enjoyed  the  joke  so  much  that  I  was  fearful  in  his 
convulsive  laughter  he  would  have  a  fit  of  apoplexy. 

Once,  at  a  dinner  given  by  the  prince,  an  old  lady  of 
very  high  rank  and  leading  position  said  suddenly  to  me, 
and  in  a  way  which  aroused  the  attention  of  the  whole 
company:  "Is  it  true  that  divorces  are  very  common  in 
America?" 

I  knew  that  a  denial  by  me  would  not  convince  her  or 
any  others  who  shared  in  this  belief,  then  very  common 
in  Europe.  Of  course,  the  prince  knew  better.  I  saw 
from  his  expression  that  he  wished  me  to  take  advantage 
of  the  opportunity.  I  made  up  my  mind  quickly  that 
the  best  way  to  meet  this  belief  was  by  an  exaggeration 
which  would  show  its  absurdity. 

Having  once  started,  the  imaginative  situation  grew 
beyond  my  anticipation.  I  answered:  "Yes,  divorces 
are  so  common  with  us  that  the  government  has  set 
aside  one  of  our  forty-odd  States  for  this  special  purpose. 
It  is  the  principal  business  of  the  authorities.  Most  of 
these  actions  for  divorce  take  place  at  the  capital,  which 
is  always  crowded  with  great  numbers  of  people  from  all 


288  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

parts  of  the  country  seeking  relief  from  their  marital 
obligations." 

"Did  you  ever  visit  that  capital?"  asked  the  prince. 

"Yes,  several  times,"  I  answered,  "but  not  for  di 
vorce.  My  domestic  relations  have  always  been  very 
happy,  but  it  is  also  a  famous  health  resort,  and  I  went 
there  for  the  cure." 

"Tell  us  about  your  visit,"  said  the  prince. 

"Well,"  I  continued,  "it  was  out  of  season  when  I 
was  first  there,  so  the  only  amusement  or  public  occa 
sions  of  interest  were  prayer-meetings." 

The  old  lady  asked  excitedly:  "Share  meetings?" 
She  had  been  a  large  and  unfortunate  investor  in  Ameri 
can  stocks. 

I  relieved  her  by  saying:  "No,  not  share  meetings,  but 
religious  prayer-meetings.  I  remember  one  evening  that 
the  gentleman  who  sat  beside  me  turned  suddenly  to  his 
wife  and  said:  'We  must  get  out  of  here  at  once;  the  air 
is  too  close.'  'Why,  no/  she  said;  'the  windows  are  all 
open  and  the  breeze  is  fresh.'  'Yes,'  he  quickly  re 
marked,  'but  next  to  you  are  your  two  predecessors  from 
whom  I  was  divorced,  and  that  makes  the  air  too  close 
forme.'" 

The  old  lady  exclaimed:  "What  a  frightful  condition !" 

"Tell  us  more,"  said  the  prince. 

"Well,"  I  continued,  "one  day  the  mayor  of  the  city 
invited  me  to  accompany  him  to  the  station,  as  the 
divorce  train  was  about  to  arrive.  I  found  at  the  sta 
tion  a  judge  and  one  of  the  court  attendants.  The 
attendant  had  a  large  package  <pf  divorce  decrees  to 
which  the  seal  of  the  court  had  been  attached,  and  also 
the  signature  of  the  judge.  They  only  required  to  have 
the  name  of  the  party  desiring  divorce  inserted.  Along- 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        289 

side  the  judge  stood  a  clergyman  of  the  Established 
Church  in  full  robes  of  his  sacred  office.  When  the  pas 
sengers  had  all  left  the  cars,  the  conductor  jumped  on 
to  one  of  the  car  platforms  and  shouted  to  the  crowd: 
"All  those  who  desire  divorce  will  go  before  the  judge 
and  make  their  application.' 

:<  When  they  had  all  been  released  by  the  court  the  con 
ductor  again  called  out:  'All  those  who  have  been  accom 
panied  by  their  partners,  or  where  both  have  been  to-day 
released  from  their  former  husbands  and  wives  to  be 
remarried,  will  go  before  the  rector/  He  married  them 
in  a  body,  whereupon  they  all  resumed  their  places  on 
the  train.  The  blowing  of  the  whistle  and  the  ringing 
of  the  bell  on  the  locomotive  was  the  music  of  their 
'first,  second,  or  third  honeymoon  journey." 

The  old  lady  threw  up  her  hands  in  horror  and  cried: 
"Such  an  impious  civilization  must  come  speedily  not 
only  to  spiritual  and  moral  destruction,  but  chaos." 

Most  of  the  company  saw  what  an  amazing  caricature 
the  whole  story  was  and  received  it  with  great  hilarity. 
The  effect  of  it  was  to  end,  for  that  circle,  at  least,  and 
their  friends,  a  serious  discussion  of  the  universality  of 
American  divorces. 

The  prince  was  always  an  eager  sportsman  and  a  very 
chivalric  one.  At  the  time  of  one  of  the  races  at  Cowes 
he  became  very  indignant  at  the  conduct  of  an  Ameri 
can  yachtsman  who  had  entered  his  boat.  It  was 
charged  by  the  other  competitors  that  this  American 
yachtsman  violated  all  the  unwritten  laws  of  the  contest. 

After  the  race  the  prince  said  to  me:  "A  yacht  is  a 
gentleman's  home,  whether  it  is  racing  or  sailing  about 
for  pleasure.  The  owner  of  this  yacht,  to  make  her 
lighter  and  give  her  a  better  chance,  removed  all  the 


290  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

furniture  and  stripped  her  bare.  He  even  went  so  far, 
I  am  told,  that  when  he  found  the  steward  had  left  in 
his  stateroom  a  tooth-brush,  he  threw  it  out  of  the  port 
window." 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  few  anecdotes  how  intensely 
human  was  the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  did  much  for  his 
country,  both  as  prince  and  king,  and  filled  in  a  wise 
and  able  way  the  functions  of  his  office.  Certainly  no 
official  did  quite  so  much  for  the  peace  of  Europe  during 
his  time,  and  no  royalty  ever  did  more  to  make  the 
throne  popular  with  the  people.  I  heard  him  speak  at 
both  formal  and  informal  occasions,  and  his  addresses 
were  always  tactful  and  wise. 

While  at  Homburg  we  used  to  enjoy  the  delightful 
excursions  to  Nauheim,  the  famous  nerve-cure  place.  I 
met  there  at  one  time  a  peculiar  type  of  Americans,  quite 
common  in  former  years.  They  were  young  men  who, 
having  inherited  fortunes  sufficient  for  their  needs,  had 
no  ambitions.  After  a  strenuous  social  life  at  home  and 
in  Europe,  they  became  hypochondriacs  and  were  chas 
ing  cures  for  their  imaginary  ills  from  one  resort  to 
another. 

One  of  them,  who  had  reached  middle  life,  had,  of 
course,  become  in  his  own  opinion  a  confirmed  invalid. 
I  asked  him:  "What  brought  you  here?  You  look  very 
well." 

"That  is  just  my  trouble,"  he  answered.  "I  look 
very  well  and  so  get  no  sympathy,  but  my  nervous  sys 
tem  is  so  out  of  order  that  it  only  takes  a  slight  shock  to 
completely  disarrange  it.  For  instance,  the  cause  of  my 
present  trouble.  I  was  dining  in  Paris  at  the  house  of 
a  famous  hostess,  and  a  distinguished  company  was 
present.  The  only  three  Americans  were  two  ladies  and 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        291 

myself.  I  was  placed  between  them.  You  know  one  of 
these  ladies,  while  a  great  leader  at  home,  uses  very 
emphatic  language  when  she  is  irritated.  The  dinner, 
like  most  French  dinners,  with  many  courses,  was  unusu 
ally  long.  Suddenly  this  lady,  leaning  over  me,  said  to 
her  sister:  'Damn  it,  Fan,  will  this  dinner  never  end?* 
The  whole  table  was  shocked  and  my  nerves  were  com 
pletely  shattered."  The  great  war,  as  I  think,  exter 
minated  this  entire  tribe. 

I  was  delighted  to  find  at  Nauhcim  my  old  friends, 
Mark  Twain  and  the  Reverend  Doctor  Joseph  Twichell, 
of  Hartford,  Conn.  Doctor  Twichell  was  Mark  Twain's 
pastor  at  home.  He  was  in  college  with  me  at  Yale,  and 
I  was  also  associated  with  him  in  the  governing  corpora 
tion  of  Yale  University.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  wits 
and  remarkable  humorists  of  his  time.  Wit  and  humor 
were  with  him  spontaneous,  and  he  bubbled  over  with 
them.  Mark  Twain's  faculties  in  that  line  were  more 
labored  and  had  to  be  worked  out.  Doctor  Twichell 
often  furnished  in  the  rough  the  jewels  which  afterwards 
in  Mark  Twain's  workshop  became  perfect  gems. 

I  invited  them  to  come  over  and  spend  the  day  and 
dine  with  me  in  the  evening  at  Homburg.  Mark  Twain 
at  that  time  had  the  reputation  in  England  of  being  the 
greatest  living  wit  and  humorist.  It  soon  spread  over 
Homburg  that  he  was  in  town  and  was  to  dine  with  me  in 
the  evening,  and  requests  came  pouring  in  to  be  invited. 
I  kept  enlarging  my  table  at  the  Kursaal,  with  these 
requests,  until  the  management  said  they  could  go  no 
farther.  I  placed  Mark  Twain  alongside  Lady  Cork, 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  women  in  England.  In  the 
course  of  years  of  acquaintance  I  had  met  Mark  Twain 
under  many  conditions.  He  was  very  uncertain  in  a 


292  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

social  gathering.  Sometimes  he  would  be  the  life  of  the 
occasion  and  make  it  one  to  be  long  remembered,  but 
generally  he  contributed  nothing.  At  this  dinner,  when 
ever  he  showed  the  slightest  sign  of  making  a  remark, 
there  was  dead  silence,  but  the  remark  did  not  come. 
He  had  a  charming  time,  and  so  did  Lady  Cork,  but  the 
rest  of  the  company  heard  nothing  from  the  great 
humorist,  and  they  were  greatly  disappointed. 

The  next  morning  Mark  Twain  came  down  to  the 
springs  in  his  tramping-suit,  which  had  fairly  covered  the 
continent.  I  introduced  him  to  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  he  was  charmed  with  him  in  their  hour  of  walk  and 
talk.  At  dinner  that  evening  the  prince  said  to  me:  "I 
would  have  invited  Mark  Twain  this  evening,  if  I 
thought  he  had  with  him  any  dinner  clothes." 

"At  my  dinner  last  night,"  I  said,  "he  met  every  con 
ventional  requirement." 

"Then,"  continued  the  prince,  "I  would  be  much 
obliged  if  you  would  get  him  for  dinner  with  me  to 
morrow  evening." 

It  was  very  much  the  same  company  as  had  dined 
with  the  prince  the  night  before.  Again  Twain  was  for 
a  long  time  a  complete  disappointment.  I  knew  scores 
of  good  things  of  his  and  tried  my  best  to  start  him  off, 
but  without  success.  The  prince,  who  was  unusually 
adroit  and  tactful  in  drawing  a  distinguished  guest  out, 
also  failed.  When  the  dinner  was  over,  however,  and 
we  had  reached  the  cigars,  Mark  Twain  started  in  telling 
a  story  in  his  most  captivating  way.  His  peculiar  drawl, 
his  habit  in  emphasizing  the  points  by  shaking  his  bushy 
hair,  made  him  a  dramatic  narrator.  He  never  had 
greater  success.  Even  the  veteran  Mark  himself  was 
astonished  at  the  uproarious  laughter  which  greeted 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        293 

almost  every  sentence  and  was  overwhelming  when  he 
closed. 

There  are  millions  of  stories  in  the  world,  and  several 
hundred  of  them  good  ones.  No  one  knew  more  of  them 
than  Mark  Twain,  and  yet  out  of  this  vast  collection  he 
selected  the  one  which  I  had  told  the  night  before  to  the 
same  company.  The  laughter  and  enjoyment  were  not 
at  the  story,  but  because  the  English  had,  as  they 
thought,  caught  me  in  retailing  to  them  from  Mark 
Twain's  repertoire  one  of  his  stories.  It  so  happened 
that  it  was  a  story  which  I  had  heard  as  happening  upon 
our  railroad  in  one  of  my  tours  of  inspection.  I  had 
told  it  in  a  speech,  and  it  had  been  generally  copied  in 
the  American  newspapers.  Mark  Twain's  reputation  as 
the  greatest  living  humorist  caused  that  crowd  to  doubt 
the  originality  of  my  stories. 

Mark  had  declined  the  cigars,  but  the  prince  was  so 
delighted  that  he  offered  him  one  of  the  highly  prized 
selection  from  his  own  case.  This  drew  from  him  a 
story,  which  I  have  not  seen  in  any  of  his  books.  I  have 
read  Mark  Twain  always  with  the  greatest  pleasure. 
His  books  of  travel  have  been  to  me  a  source  of  endless 
interest,  and  his  "Personal  Recollections  of  Joan  of  Arc" 
is  the  best  representation  of  the  saint  and  heroine  that 
I  know. 

When  the  prince  offered  him  the  cigar,  Mark  said: 
"No,  prince,  I  never  smoke.  I  have  the  reputation  in 
Hartford,  Conn.,  of  furnishing  at  my  entertainments  the 
worst  of  cigars.  When  I  was  going  abroad,  and  as  I 
would  be  away  for  several  years,  I  gave  a  reception  and 
invited  all  my  friends.  I  had  the  governor  of  the  State 
of  Connecticut  and  the  judges  of  the  highest  courts,  and 
the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  legislature.  I 


294  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

had  the  leading  clergymen  and  other  citizens,  and  also 
the  president  and  faculty  of  Yale  University  and  Trinity 
College. 

"At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  my  butler,  who  is  a 
colored  man,  Pompey  by  name,  came  to  me  and  said: 
'Mr.  Clemens,  we  have  no  cigars.'  Just  then  a  pedler's 
wagon  stopped  at  the  gate.  In  England  they  call  them 
cheap  jacks.  I  hailed  the  merchant  and  said:  'What 
have  you  in  your  wagon?'  'Well,'  he  answered,  'I  have 
some  Gobelin  tapestries,  Sevres  china,  and  Japanese 
cloisonne  vases,  and  a  few  old  masters.'  Then  I  said  to 
him:  'I  do  not  want  any  of  those,  but  have  you  cigars, 
and  how  much?'  The  pedler  answered:  'Yes,  sir,  I 
have  some  excellent  cigars,  which  I  will  sell  you  at  sev 
enteen  cents  a  barrel.'  I  have  to  explain  that  a  cent  is 
an  English  farthing.  Then  I  told  him  to  roll  a  barrel 

"  It  was  a  great  occasion,  one  of  the  greatest  we  ever 
had  in  the  old  State  of  Connecticut,"  continued  Mark, 
"but  I  noticed  that  the  guests  left  unusually  early  after 
supper.  The  next  morning  I  asked  the  butler  why  they 
left  so  early.  'Well,'  he  said,  'Mr.  Clemens,  everybody 
enjoyed  the  supper,  and  they  were  all  having  a  good 
time  until  I  gave  them  the  cigars.  After  the  gentleman 
had  taken  three  puffs,  he  said:  "Pomp,  you  infernal  nig 
ger,  get  me  my  hat  and  coat  quick."  When  I  went  out, 
my  stone  walk,  which  was  one  hundred  yards  long  from 
the  front  door  to  the  gate,  was  just  paved  with  those 
cigars.' '  This  specimen  of  American  exaggeration  told 
in  Mark  Twain's  original  way  made  a  great  hit. 

I  met  Mark  Twain  at  a  theatrical  supper  in  London 
given  by  Sir  Henry  Irving.  It  was  just  after  his  pub 
lishing  firm  had  failed  so  disastrously.  It  was  a  notable 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    295 

company  of  men  of  letters,  playwrights,  and  artists. 
Poor  Mark  was  broken  in  health  and  spirits.  He  tried 
to  make  a  speech,  and  a  humorous  one,  but  it  saddened 
the  whole  company. 

I  met  him  again  after  he  had  made  the  money  on  his 
remarkable  lecture  tour  around  the  world,  with  which 
he  met  and  paid  all  his  debts.  It  was  an  achievement 
worthy  of  the  famous  effort  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Jubi 
lant,  triumphant,  and  free,  Mark  Twain  that  night  was 
the  hero  never  forgotten  by  any  one  privileged  to  be 
present. 

One  year,  after  strenuous  work  and  unusual  difficul 
ties,  which,  however,  had  been  successfully  met,  I  was 
completely  exhausted.  I  was  advised  to  take  a  short 
trip  to  Europe,  and,  as  usual,  the  four  weeks'  change  of 
air  and  occupation  was  a  complete  cure.  I  decided  to 
include  Rome  in  my  itinerary,  though  I  felt  that  my 
visit  would  be  something  like  the  experience  of  Phineas 
Fogg,  who  did  the  whole  of  Europe  and  saw  all  there  was 
of  it  in  ten  days. 

When  I  arrived  in  the  Eternal  City,  my  itinerary  gave 
me  four  days  there.  I  wanted  to  see  everything  and 
also  to  meet,  if  possible,  one  of  the  greatest  of  popes, 
Leo  XIII.  I  was  armed  only  with  a  letter  from  my 
accomplished  and  distinguished  friend,  Archbishop  Cor- 
rigan.  I  secured  the  best-known  guide,  who  informed 
me  that  my  efforts  to  see  the  sights  within  my  limited 
time  would  be  impossible.  Nevertheless,  the  incentive 
of  an  extra  large  commission  dependent  upon  distances 
covered  and  sights  seen,  led  to  my  going  through  the 
streets  behind  the  best  team  of  horses  in  Rome  and  pur 
sued  by  policemen  and  dogs,  and  the  horses  urged  on  by 


296  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

a  driver  frantic  for  reward,  and  a  guide  who  profession 
ally  and  financially  was  doing  the  stunt  of  his  life.  It 
was  astounding  how  much  ground  was  really  covered  in 
the  city  of  antiquities  and  art  by  this  devotion  to  speed 
and  under  competent  guidance. 

When  I  asked  to  see  the  pope,  I  was  informed  that  his 
health  was  not  good  and  audiences  had  been  suspended. 
I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  cardinal-secretary,  enclosing  Arch 
bishop  Corrigan's  letter,  and  stated  my  anxiety  to  meet 
His  Holiness  and  the  limited  time  I  had.  A  few  hours 
afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  the  cardinal,  stating 
that  the  Holy  Father  appreciated  the  circumstances, 
and  would  be  very  glad  to  welcome  me  in  private  audi 
ence  at  eleven  o'clock  the  next  morning. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  Vatican  I  was  received  as  a  dis 
tinguished  visitor.  The  papal  guards  were  turned  out, 
and  I  was  finally  ushered  into  the  room  of  Cardinal 
Merry  del  Val.  He  was  a  young  man  then  and  an 
accomplished  diplomat,  and  most  intimately  informed 
on  all  questions  of  current  interest.  Literature,  music, 
drama,  political  conditions  in  Europe  were  among  his 
accomplishments.  He  said  the  usual  formula  when  a 
stranger  is  presented  to  the  pope  is  for  the  guest  to  kneel 
and  kiss  his  ring.  The  pope  has  decided  that  all  this 
will  be  omitted  in  your  case.  He  will  receive  you  ex 
actly  as  an  eminent  foreigner  calling  by  appointment 
upon  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

When  I  was  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  pope  he 
left  his  throne,  came  forward,  grasped  me  cordially  by 
the  hand,  and  welcomed  me  in  a  very  charming  way. 
He  was  not  a  well  man,  and  his  bloodless  countenance 
was  as  white  and  pallid  as  his  robes.  This  was  all  re 
lieved,  however,  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  wonderful  eyes. 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        297 

After  a  few  preliminary  remarks  he  plunged  into  the 
questions  in  which  he  was  deeply  interested.  He  feared 
the  spread  of  communism  and  vividly  described  its 
efforts  to  destroy  the  church,  ruin  religion,  extirpate 
faith,  and  predicted  that  if  successful  it  would  destroy 
civilization. 

I  told  him  that  I  was  deeply  interested  in  the  encyclical 
he  had  recently  issued  to  reconcile  or  make  more  harmo 
nious  the  relations  between  capital  and  labor.  He  com 
menced  speaking  upon  that  subject,  and  in  a  few  min 
utes  I  saw  that  I  was  to  be  privileged  to  hear  an  address 
from  one  who  as  priest  and  bishop  had  been  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  orators  of  the  age.  In  his  excitement  he 
leaned  forward,  grasping  the  arms  of  the  throne,  the 
color  returned  to  his  cheeks,  his  eyes  flashed,  his  voice 
was  vibrant,  and  I  was  the  audience,  the  entranced  audi 
ence  of  the  best  speech  I  ever  heard  upon  the  question 
of  labor  and  capital. 

I  was  fearful  on  account  of  his  health,  that  the  exer 
tion  might  be  too  great,  and  so  arose  to  leave.  He  again 
said  to  me,  and  taking  my  hand:  "I  know  all  about  you 
and  am  very  grateful  to  you  that  in  your  official  capacity 
as  president  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  you  are 
treating  so  fairly  the  Catholics.  I  know  that  among 
your  employees  twenty-eight  thousand  are  of  the  Catho 
lic  faith,  and  not  one  of  them  has  ever  known  any  dis 
crimination  because  of  their  belief,  but  all  of  them  have 
equal  opportunities  with  the  others  for  the  rewards  of 
their  profession  and  protection  in  their  employment." 

The  next  day  he  sent  a  special  messenger  for  a  renewal 
of  the  conversation,  but  unhappily  I  had  left  Rome  the 
night  before. 

During  my  stay  in  Rome  of  four  days  I  had  visited 


298  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

most  of  its  antiquities,  its  famous  churches,  and  spent 
several  hours  in  the  Vatican  gallery.  Our  American 
minister,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  of  our  diplomats, 
Mr.  William  Potter,  had  also  given  me  a  dinner,  where 
I  was  privileged  to  meet  many  celebrities  of  the  time. 

Among  English  statesmen  I  found  in  Lord  Salisbury 
an  impressive  figure.  In  a  long  conversation  I  had  with 
him  at  the  Foreign  Office  he  talked  with  great  freedom 
on  the  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain.  He  was  exceedingly  anxious  that  friendly  con 
ditions  should  continue  and  became  most  cordial. 

The  frequent  disposition  on  the  part  of  American  poli 
ticians  to  issue  a  challenge  or  create  eruptions  disturbed 
him.  I  think  he  was  in  doubt  when  President  Cleveland 
made  his  peremptory  demands  on  the  Venezuela  bound 
ary  question  if  the  president  recognized  their  serious 
importance  both  for  the  present  and  the  future.  He, 
however,  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  arbitration,  won  a 
complete  victory,  and  was  satisfied  that  such  irritating 
questions  were  mainly  political  and  for  election  purposes, 
and  had  better  be  met  in  a  conciliatory  spirit. 

I  remember  a  garden-party  at  Hatfield  House,  the  his 
torical  home  of  the  Cecils,  given  in  honor  of  King  Victor 
Emmanuel  III,  who  had  recently  come  to  the  throne. 
Lord  Salisbury  was  of  gigantic  proportions  physically, 
while  the  king  was  undersized.  The  contrast  between 
the  two  was  very  striking,  especially  when  they  were  in 
animated  conversation — the  giant  prime  minister  talk 
ing  down  to  His  Majesty,  and  he  with  animated  gestures 
talking  up  to  the  premier. 

It  is  not  too  great  a  stretch  of  imagination,  when  one 
knows  how  traditional  interviews  and  conversations  be- 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        299 

tween  European  rulers  affect  their  relations,  present  and 
future,  to  find  in  that  entertainment  and  conference 
that  the  seed  there  was  sown  for  the  entrance  of  Italy, 
at  one  of  the  crises  of  the  Great  War,  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies  and  against  Germany,  to  whom  she  was  bound  by 
the  Triple  Alliance. 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  to  me  at  one  time:  "I  have  re 
cently  met  a  most  interesting  countryman  of  yours.  He 
is  one  of  the  best-informed  and  able  men  of  any  country 
whom  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  talking  with  for  a  long 
time,  and  he  is  in  London  now.  I  wish  you  would  tell 
me  all  about  him." 

Mr.  Gladstone  could  not  recall  his  name.     As  there* 
were  a  number  of  American  congressmen  in  London,  I 
asked:  "Was  he  a  congressman?" 

"No,"  he  answered;  "he  had  a  more  important 
office." 

I  then  remembered  that  DeWitt  Clinton,  when  a 
United  States  senator,  resigned  to  become  mayor  of  the 
City  of  New  York.  On  that  inspiration  I  asked:  "Mayor 
of  the  City  of  New  York?" 

"Yes,  that  is  it,"  Mr.  Gladstone  answered. 

I  then  told  him  that  it  was  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  and 
gave  him  a  description  of  Mr.  Hewitt's  career.  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  most  enthusiastic  about  him. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  know  Mr.  Hewitt  very  well  for 
many  years.  He  richly  merited  Mr.  Gladstone's  enco 
mium.  He  was  one  of  the  most  versatile  and  able  Ameri 
cans  in  public  or  private  life  during  his  time.  His  father 
was  an  English  tenant-farmer  who  moved  with  his  family 
to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Hewitt  received  a  liberal 
education  and  became  a  great  success  both  in  business 
and  public  life.  He  was  much  more  than  a  business 


300  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

man,  mayor  of  New  York,  or  a  congressman — he  was 
public-spirited  and  a  wise  reformer. 

Mr.  Hewitt  told  me  two  interesting  incidents  in  his 
career.  When  he  visited  England  he  was  received  with 
many  and  flattering  attentions.  Among  his  invitations 
was  a  week-end  to  the  home  of  the  nobleman  upon  whose 
estates  his  father  had  been  a  tenant-farmer.  When  Mr. 
Hewitt  told  the  nobleman,  who  was  entertaining  him  as 
a  distinguished  American,  about  his  father's  former  rela 
tions  as  one  of  his  tenants,  the  nobleman  said:  "Your 
father  made  a  great  mistake  in  giving  up  his  farm  and 
emigrating  to  the  United  States.  He  should  have  re 
mained  here." 

Mr.  Hewitt  said:  "But,  my  lord,  so  far  as  I  am  con 
cerned  I  do  not  think  so." 

"Why?"  asked  his  lordship. 

"Because,"  answered  Mr.  Hewitt,  "then  I  could  never 
have  been  a  guest  on  equal  terms  in  your  house." 

Mr.  Hewitt  was  one  of  the  foremost  iron  founders  and 
steel  manufacturers  of  the  country.  At  the  time  of  our 
Civil  War  our  government  was  very  short  of  guns,  and 
we  were  unable  to  manufacture  them  because  we  did 
not  know  the  secret  of  gun-metal. 

The  government  sent  Mr.  Hewitt  abroad  to  purchase 
guns.  The  English  gunmakers  at  once  saw  the  trouble 
he  was  in  and  took  advantage  of  it.  They  demanded 
prices  several  times  greater  than  they  were  asking  from 
other  customers,  and  refused  to  give  him  any  informa 
tion  about  the  manufacture  of  gun-metal. 

After  he  had  made  the  contract,  with  all  its  exorbitant 
conditions,  he  went  to  his  hotel  and  invited  the  foreman 
of  each  department  of  the  factory  to  meet  him.  They 
all  came.  Mr.  Hewitt  explained  to  them  his  mission, 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD        301 

and  found  that  they  were  sympathetic  with  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  his  administration  and  the  Union  cause.  Then  he 
told  them  of  the  trouble  he  had  had  with  their  employ 
ers,  and  the  hard  terms  which  they  had  imposed.  He 
asked  them  then  all  about  the  manufacture  of  gun- 
metal.  Each  one  of  the  foremen  was  very  clear  and 
explicit  as  to  his  part,  and  so  when  they  had  all  spoken, 
Mr.  Hewitt,  with  his  expert  knowledge  of  the  business, 
knew  all  the  secrets  of  the  manufacture  of  gun-metal, 
which  he,  of  course,  gave  to  the  government  at  Washing 
ton  for  use  in  their  several  arsenals  and  shops. 

"Now,"  he  said  to  his  guests,  "you  have  done  me  a 
great  favor.  I  will  return  it.  Your  company  is  obliged 
by  the  contract  to  deliver  this  immense  order  within  a 
limited  time.  They  are  going  to  make  an  enormous 
amount  of  money  out  of  it.  You  strike  and  demand 
what  you  think  is  right,  and  you  will  get  it  immedi- 
ately." 

The  gun  company  made  a  huge  profit  but  had  to  share 
some  of  it  with  their  workers.  It  was  an  early  instance 
of  the  introduction  of  profit-sharing,  which  has  now  be 
come  common  all  over  the  world. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  Englishmen,  whom  I  saw 
much  of  both  in  London  and  in  the  United  States,  was 
Sir  Henry  Irving.  The  world  of  art,  drama,  and  history 
owes  much  to  him  for  his  revival  of  Shakespeare.  Ir 
ving  was  a  genius  in  his  profession,  and  in  private  life 
perfectly  delightful. 

He  gave  me  a  dinner  and  it  was,  like  everything  he 
did,  original.  Instead  of  the  usual  formal  entertain 
ment,  he  had  the  dinner  at  one  of  the  old  royal  castles  in 
the  country,  which  had  become  a  very  exclusive  hotel. 
He  carried  us  out  there  in  coaches. 


302  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  company  of  authors,  playwrights,  and  men  of 
affairs  made  the  entertainment  late  and  the  evening 
memorable.  Returning  home  on  the  top  of  the  coach, 
the  full  moon  would  appear  and  reappear,  but  was  gen 
erally  under  a  cloud.  Irving  remarked:  "I  do  much 
better  with  that  old  moon  in  my  theatre.  I  make  it 
shine  or  obscure  it  with  clouds,  as  the  occasion  requires." 

I  received  a  note  from  him  at  the  time  of  his  last  visit 
to  the  United  States,  in  which  he  said  that  a  friend  from 
the  western  part  of  the  country  was  giving  him  a  dinner 
at  Delmonico's  to  precede  his  sailing  in  the  early  morning 
on  his  voyage  home.  The  company  was  to  be  large  and 
all  good  friends,  and  he  had  the  positive  assurance  that 
there  would  be  no  speaking,  and  wished  I  would  come. 

The  dinner  was  everything  that  could  be  desired. 
The  company  was  a  wonderful  one  of  distinguished  rep 
resentatives  of  American  life.  The  hours  passed  along 
rapidly  and  joyously,  as  many  of  these  original  men 
contributed  story,  racy  adventure,  or  song. 

Suddenly  the  host  arose  and  said:  "Gentlemen,  we 
have  with  us  to-night — "  Of  course,  that  meant  an  in 
troductory  speech  about  Irving  and  a  reply  from  the 
guest.  Irving  turned  to  me,  and  in  his  deepest  and 
most  tragic  Macbeth  voice  said:  "God  damn  his  soul  to 
hell!"  However,  he  rose  to  the  occasion,  and  an  hour 
or  so  afterwards,  when  everybody  else  had  spoken,  not 
satisfied  with  his  first  effort,  he  arose  and  made  a  much 
better  and  longer  speech.  He  was  an  admirable  after- 
dinner  speaker  as  well  as  an  unusual  actor.  His  wonder 
ful  presentations,  not  only  of  Shakespeare's  but  of  other 
dramas,  did  very  much  for  the  stage  both  in  his  own 
country  and  in  ours. 

Those  who  heard  him  only  in  his  last  year  had  no 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    303 

conception  of  him  in  his  prime.  In  his  later  years  he 
fell  into  the  fault,  so  common  with  public  speakers  and 
actors,  of  running  words  together  and  failing  to  articu 
late  clearly.  I  have  known  a  fine  speech  and  a  superior 
sermon  and  a  great  part  in  a  play  ruined  because  of  the 
failure  to  articulate  clearly.  The  audience  could  not 
follow  the  speaker  and  so  lost  interest. 

Sir  Henry  told  me  a  delightful  story  about  Disraeli. 
A  young  relative  of  Irving' s  took  orders  and  became  a 
clergyman  in  the  Established  Church.  At  the  request  of 
Irving,  Disraeli  appointed  this  young  man  one  of  the 
curates  at  Windsor. 

One  day  the  clergyman  came  to  Irving  in  great  distress 
and  said:  "The  unexpected  has  happened.  Every  one 
has  dropped  out,  and  I  have  been  ordered  to  preach  on 
Sunday." 

Irving  took  him  to  see  Disraeli  for  advice.  The 
prime  minister  said  to  the  young  clergyman:  "If  you 
preach  thirty  minutes,  Her  Majesty  will  be  bored.  If 
you  preach  fifteen  minutes,  Her  Majesty  will  be  pleased. 
If  you  preach  ten  minutes,  Her  Majesty  will  be  de 
lighted." 

"But,"  said  the  young  clergyman,  "my  lord,  what 
can  a  preacher  possibly  say  in  only  ten  minutes?" 

"That,"  answered  the  statesman,  "will  be  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  Her  Majesty." 

Sir  Frederick  Leighton,  the  eminent  English  artist, 
and  at  one  time  president  of  the  Royal  Academy,  was 
one  of  the  most  charming  men  of  his  time.  His  remi 
niscences  were  delightful  and  told  with  rare  dramatic 
effect.  I  remember  a  vivid  description  which  he  gave 
me  of  the  wedding  of  one  of  the  British  royalties  with  a 


304  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

German  princess.  Sir  Frederick  was  one  of  the  large 
and  distinguished  delegation  which  accompanied  the 
prince. 

The  principality  of  the  bride's  father  had  been  shorn 
of  territory,  power,  and  revenue  during  the  centuries. 
Nevertheless,  at  the  time  of  the  wedding  he  maintained 
a  ministry,  the  same  as  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  a  minia 
ture  army.  Palaces,  built  centuries  before,  housed  the 
Cabinet. 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  came  to  Sir  Frederick 
and  unbosomed  himself  of  his  troubles.  He  said:  "Ac 
cording  to  the  usual  procedure  I  ought  to  give  a  ball  in 
honor  of  the  union  of  our  house  with  the  royal  family  of 
England.  My  palace  is  large  enough,  but  my  salary  is 
only  eight  hundred  a  year,  and  the  expense  would  eat 
up  the  whole  of  it." 

Sir  Frederick  said:  "Your  Excellency  can  overcome 
the  difficulty  in  an  original  way.  The  state  band  can 
furnish  the  music,  and  that  will  cost  nothing.  When  the 
time  comes  for  the  banquet,  usher  the  guests  with  due 
ceremony  to  a  repast  of  beer  and  pretzels." 

The  minister  followed  the  instructions.  The  whole 
party  appreciated  the  situation,  and  the  minister  was 
accredited  with  the  most  brilliant  and  successful  ball 
the  old  capital  had  known  for  a  century. 

For  several  years  one  of  the  most  interesting  men  in 
Europe  was  the  Duke  d'Aumale,  son  of  Louis  Philippe. 
He  was  a  statesman  and  a  soldier  of  ability  and  a  social 
factor  of  the  first  rank.  He  alone  of  the  French  royalty 
was  relieved  from  the  decree  of  perpetual  banishment 
and  permitted  to  return  to  France  and  enjoy  his  estates. 
In  recognition  of  this  he  gave  his  famous  chateau  and 


RECOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD        305 

property  at  Chantilly  to  the  French  Academy.  The  gift 
was  valued  at  ten  millions  of  dollars.  In  the  chateau  at 
Chantilly  is  a  wonderful  collection  of  works  of  art. 

I  remember  at  one  dinner,  where  the  duke  was  the 
guest  of  honor,  those  present,  including  the  host,  were 
mostly  new  creations  in  the  British  peerage.  After  the 
conversation  had  continued  for  some  time  upon  the  fact 
that  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Lords  had  been  raised 
to  the  peerage  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  those 
present  began  to  try  and  prove  that  on  account  of  their 
ancient  lineage  they  were  exempt  from  the  rule  of  par 
venu  peers.  The  duke  was  very  tolerant  with  this  dis 
cussion  and,  as  always,  the  soul  of  politeness. 

The  host  said:  "Your  Royal  Highness,  could  you 
oblige  us  with  a  sketch  of  your  ancestry?" 

"Oh,  certainly,"  answered  the  duke;  "it  is  very  brief. 
My  family,  the  Philippes,  are  descendants  from  yEneas 
of  Troy,  and  ./Eneas  was  the  son  of  Venus."  The  mush 
rooms  seemed  smaller  than  even  the  garden  variety. 

The  duke  was  talking  to  me  at  one  time  very  inter 
estingly  about  the  visit  of  his  father  to  America.  At  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution  his  father  had  to  flee  for 
his  life  and  came  to  the  United  States.  He  was  enter 
tained  at  Mount  Vernon  by  Washington.  He  told  me 
that  after  his  father  became  King  of  France,  he  would 
often  hesitate,  or  refuse  to  do  something  or  write  some 
thing  which  his  ministers  desired.  The  king's  answer 
always  was:  "When  I  visited  that  greatest  man  of  all  the 
world,  General  Washington,  at  his  home,  I  asked  him  at 
one  time:  *  General,  is  it  not  possible  that  in  your  long 
and  wonderful  career  as  a  soldier  and  statesman  that 
you  have  made  mistakes?'  The  general  answered:  'I 
have  never  done  anything  which  I  cared  to  recall  or  said 


306  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

anything  which  I  would  not  repeat/  and  the  king  would 
say:  'I  cannot  do  that  or  sign  that,  because  if  I  do  I 
cannot  say  for  myself  what  General  Washington  said  of 
himself.'" 

The  duke  asked  me  to  spend  a  week-end  with  him  at 
Chantilly,  and  it  is  one  of  the  regrets  of  my  life  that  I 
was  unable  to  accept. 

I  happened  to  be  in  London  on  two  successive  Sun 
days.  On  the  first  I  went  to  Westminster  Abbey  to  hear 
Canon  Farrar  preach.  The  sermon  was  worthy  of  its 
wonderful  setting.  Westminster  Abbey  is  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  edifices  in  the  world.  The  orator  has  to 
reach  a  high  plane  to  be  worthy  of  its  pulpit.  I  have 
heard  many  dull  discourses  there  because  the  surround 
ings  refuse  to  harmonize  with  mediocrity.  The  sermon 
of  Canon  Farrar  was  classic.  It  could  easily  have  taken 
a  place  among  the  gems  of  English  literature.  It  seemed 
to  me  to  meet  whatever  criticism  the  eminent  dead, 
buried  in  that  old  mausoleum,  might  have  of  these  mod 
ern  utterances.  I  left  the  Abbey  spiritually  and  men 
tally  elated. 

The  next  Sunday  I  went  to  hear  Charles  Spurgeon. 
It  was  a  wonderful  contrast.  Spurgeon's  Metropolitan 
Tabernacle  was  a  very  plain  structure  of  immense  pro 
portions  but  with  admirable  acoustics.  There  was  none 
of  the  historic  enshrining  the  church,  which  is  the  glory  of 
Westminster  Abbey,  no  church  vestments  or  ceremonials. 

Mr.  Spurgeon,  a  plain,  stocky-looking  man,  came  out 
on  the  platform  dressed  in  an  ordinary  garb  of  black 
coat,  vest,  and  trousers.  It  was  a  vast  audience  of 
what  might  be  called  middle-class  people.  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  sermon  was  a  plain,  direct,  and  exceedingly  forci- 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    307 

ble  appeal  to  their  judgment  and  emotions.  There  was 
no  attempt  at  rhetoric,  but  hard,  hammerlike  blows. 
As  he  rose  in  his  indignation  and  denunciation  of  some 
current  evils,  and  illustrated  his  argument  with  the  Old 
Testament  examples  of  the  punishment  of  sinners,  the 
audience  became  greatly  excited.  One  of  the  officers  of 
the  church,  in  whose  pew  I  sat,  groaned  aloud  and  gripped 
his  hands  so  that  the  nails  left  their  mark.  Others 
around  him  were  in  the  same  frame  of  mind  and  spirit. 

I  saw  there  and  then  that  the  men  who  fought  with 
Cromwell  and  won  the  battle  of  Naseby  had  in  modern 
England  plenty  of  descendants.  They  had  changed 
only  in  outward  deference  to  modern  usages  and  condi 
tions.  If  there  had  been  occasion,  Mr.  Spurgeon  could 
have  led  them  for  any  sacrifice  to  what  they  believed  to 
be  right.  I  felt  the  power  of  that  suppressed  feeling — I 
would  not  say  fanaticism,  but  intense  conscientiousness 
— which  occasionally  in  elections  greatly  surprises  Eng 
lish  politicians. 

Canon  Farrar's  sermon  easily  takes  its  place  among 
the  selected  books  of  the  library.  Spurgeon's  address 
was  straight  from  the  shoulder,  blow  for  blow,  for  the 
needs  of  the  hour. 

One  of  the  novel  incidents  of  the  generous  hospitality 
which  I  enjoyed  every  year  in  London  was  a  dinner  at 
the  Athenaeum  Club  given  to  me  by  one  of  the  members 
of  the  government  at  that  time.  He  was  a  gentleman 
of  high  rank  and  political  importance.  There  were 
twenty-six  at  the  dinner,  and  it  was  a  representative 
gathering. 

At  the  conclusion  our  host  made  a  very  cordial  speech 
on  more  intimate  relations  between  the  United  States 


3o8  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

and  Great  Britain,  and  then  in  a  complimentary  phrase 
introduced  me,  saying:  "I  hope  you  will  speak  freely  and 
without  limit." 

I  was  encouraged  by  a  most  sympathetic  audience  and 
had  a  good  time  during  my  effort.  No  one  else  was 
called  upon.  My  host  was  complimentary  and  said: 
"Your  speech  was  so  satisfactory  that  I  thought  best  not 
to  have  any  more." 

Some  time  afterwards  he  said  to  me:  "Many  of  my 
friends  had  heard  of  you  but  never  heard  you,  so  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  give  them  the  opportunity,  and  what  was 
really  a  purely  social  affair  for  every  other  guest,  I  turned 
into  an  international  occasion  just  to  draw  you  out. 
However,  the  fraud,  if  it  was  a  fraud,  was  an  eminent 


success." 


No  one  in  England  did  more  for  Americans  than  Sir 
Henry  Lucy.  Every  American  knew  all  about  him,  be 
cause  of  his  reputation,  and  particularly  because  he  was 
the  author  of  that  most  interesting  column  in  Punch 
called  the  "Essence  of  Parliament." 

At  his  luncheons  he  gathered  eminent  men  in  public 
life  and  in  the  literary  and  journalistic  activities  of  Great 
Britain.  These  luncheons  were  most  informal,  and  under 
the  hospitable  genius  of  Lucy  the  guests  became  on  inti 
mate  terms.  There  was  no  table  in  London  where  so 
many  racy  stories  and  sometimes  valuable  historical 
reminiscences  could  be  heard. 

To  be  a  guest  at  one  of  Sir  Lucy's  luncheons  was  for 
an  American  to  meet  on  familiar  terms  with  distin 
guished  men  whom  he  knew  all  about  and  was  most 
anxious  to  see  and  hear. 

At  a  large  dinner  I  had  a  pleasant  encounter  with  Sir 


REGOLLECTIONS   FROM  ABROAD         309 

Henry.  In  order  to  meet  another  engagement,  he  tried 
to  slip  quietly  out  while  I  was  speaking.  I  caught  sight 
of  his  retreating  figure  and  called  loudly  the  refrain  of 
the  familiar  song,  "Linger  longer,  Lucy."  The  shout 
of  the  crowd  brought  Sir  Henry  back,  and  the  other 
entertainment  lost  a  guest. 

In  several  of  my  visits  to  London  I  went  to  see  not 
only  places  of  interest  but  also  houses  and  streets  made 
famous  in  English  literature.  In  one  of  my  many  trips 
to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  I  was  looking  at  the  tomb  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  in  the  crypt  and  also  at  the  modest 
tomb  of  Cruikshank,  the  artist,  near  by. 

The  superintendent  asked  me  who  I  was  and  many 
questions  about  America,  and  then  said:  "Many  Ameri 
cans  come  here,  but  the  most  remarkable  of  them  all  was 
Colonel  Robert  G.  IngersoII.  He  was  very  inquisitive 
and  wanted  to  know  all  about  Wellington's  tomb.  I 
told  him  that  the  duke's  body  was  first  put  in  a  wooden 
coffin,  and  this  was  incased  in  steel;  that  this  had  made 
for  it  a  position  in  a  stone  weighing  twenty  tons  and 
over  that  was  a  huge  stone  weighing  forty  tons.  He 
gave  me  a  slap  on  the  back  which  sent  me  flying  quite  a 
distance  and  exclaimed:  "Old  man,  you  have  got  him 
safe.  If  he  ever  escapes  cable  at  my  expense  to  Robert 
G.  IngersoII,  Peoria,  Illinois,  U.  S.  A/" 

I  had  an  opportunity  to  know  that  the  war  by  Ger 
many  against  France  and  England  was  a  surprise  to  both 
countries.  While  in  London  during  part  of  June,  1914, 
I  met  Cabinet  ministers  and  members  of  Parliament, 
and  their  whole  thought  and  anxiety  were  concentrated 
on  the  threatened  revolution  in  Ireland. 


3io  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

The  Cabinet  had  asked  the  king  to  intervene  and  he 
had  called  representatives  of  all  parties  to  meet  him  at 
Buckingham  Palace.  After  many  consultations  he  de 
clared  settlement  or  compromise  were  impossible.  The 
situation  was  so  critical  that  it  absorbed  the  attention 
of  the  government,  the  press,  and  the  public. 

About  the  first  of  July  I  was  in  Paris  and  found  the 
French  worried  about  their  finances  and  the  increase  in 
their  military  expenses  which  were  reaching  threatening 
figures.  The  syndicate  of  French  bankers  were  seriously 
alarmed.  There  was  no  suspicion  of  German  purpose 
and  preparations  for  attack. 

While  in  Geneva  a  few  weeks  afterwards  I  became 
alarmed  by  letters  from  relatives  in  Germany  who  were 
socially  intimate  with  people  holding  very  important 
positions  in  the  government  and  the  army,  and  their 
apprehensions  from  what  their  German  friends  told  them 
and  what  they  saw  led  to  their  joining  us  in  Switzerland. 

One  day  the  Swiss  refused  to  take  foreign  money  or  to 
make  exchange  for  Swiss,  or  to  cash  letters  of  credit  or 
bank  checks.  I  immediately  concluded  that  the  Swiss 
bankers  knew  of  or  suspected  Germany's  hostile  inten 
tions,  and  with  only  two  hours,  and  two  families  with 
their  trunks  to  pack,  we  managed  to  reach  and  secure 
accommodations  on  the  regular  train  for  Paris.  There 
was  nothing  unusual  either  at  the  railroad  station  or  in 
the  city. 

One  of  the  amusing  incidents  which  are  my  life-pre 
servers  occurred  at  the  station.  Two  elderly  English 
spinsters  were  excitedly  discussing  the  currency  trouble. 
One  of  them  smoothed  out  a  bank  of  England  note  and 
said  to  her  sister:  " There,  Sarah,  is  a  bank  of  England 
note  which  has  been  good  as  gold  all  over  the  world 


RECOLLECTIONS  FROM  ABROAD    311 

since  Christ  came  to  earth,  and  these  Swiss  pigs  won't 
take  it." 

I  told  this  incident  afterwards  to  a  banker  in  London. 
He  said  they  were  very  ignorant  women,  there  were  no 
bank  of  England  notes  at  that  time. 

German  hostility  developed  so  rapidly  that  our  train 
was  the  last  which  left  Switzerland  for  France  for  nearly 
two  months.  We  were  due  in  Paris  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  but  did  not  arrive  until  the  next  morning 
because  of  the  mobilization  of  French  recruits. 

The  excitement  in  Paris  was  intense.  A  French  states 
man  said  to  me:  "We  are  doing  our  best  to  avoid  war. 
Our  troops  are  kept  ten  kilometres  from  the  frontier, 
but  the  Germans  have  crossed  and  seized  strategic  points. 
They  will  hear  nothing  and  accept  nothing  and  are  deter 
mined  to  crush  us  if  they  can." 

From  all  ranks  of  the  people  was  heard:  "We  will 
fight  to  the  last  man,  but  we  are  outnumbered  and  will 
be  destroyed  unless  England  helps.  Will  England  help? 
Will  England  help?"  I  have  been  through  several 
crises  but  never  witnessed  nor  felt  such  a  reaction  to 
ecstatic  joy  as  occurred  when  Great  Britain  joined 
France. 

The  restrictions  on  leaving  Paris  required  time,  pa 
tience,  and  all  the  resources  of  our  Embassy  to  get  us 
out  of  France.  The  helpfulness,  resourcefulness,  and 
untiring  efforts  of  our  Ambassador,  Myron  T.  Herrick, 
won  the  gratitude  of  all  Americans  whom  the  war  had 
interned  on  the  continent  and  who  must  get  home. 

There  was  a  remarkable  change  in  England.  When  we 
left  in  July  there  was  almost  hysteria  over  the  threaten 
ing  civil  war.  In  October  the  people  were  calm  though 
involved  in  the  greatest  war  in  their  history.  They 


3i2  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

did  not  minimize  the  magnitude  of  the  struggle,  or  the 
sacrifices  it  would  require.  There  was  a  characteristic 
grim  determination  to  see  the  crisis  through,  regardless 
of  cost.  Cabinet  ministers  whom  I  met  thought  the 
war  would  last  three  years. 

The  constant  appeal  to  me,  as  to  other  Americans, 
was,  "When  will  you  join  us?  If  we  fail  it  is  your  turn 
next.  It  is  autocracy  and  militarism  against  civilization, 
liberty,  and  representative  government  for  the  whole 
world." 

We  had  a  perilous  and  anxious  voyage  home  and  found 
few  grasping  the  situation  or  working  to  be  prepared  for 
the  inevitable,  except  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  General 
Wood. 


XX 

ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS 

During  my  college  days  at  Yale  Wendell  Phillips, 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher  were 
frequent  lecturers,  and  generally  on  the  slavery  question. 
I  have  heard  most  of  the  great  orators  of  the  world,  but 
none  of  them  produced  such  an  immediate  and  lasting 
effect  upon  their  audience  as  Wendell  Phillips.  He  was 
the  finest  type  of  a  cultured  New  Englander.  He  was 
the  recipient  of  the  best  education  possible  in  his  time 
and  with  independent  means  which  enabled  him  to  pur 
sue  his  studies  and  career.  Besides,  he  was  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  I  ever  saw  upon  the  platform,  and  in 
his  inspired  moments  met  one's  imaginative  conception 
of  a  Greek  god. 

Phillips  rarely  made  a  gesture  or  spoke  above  the 
conversational,  but  his  musical  voice  reached  the  remot 
est  corners  of  the  hall.  The  eager  audience,  fearful  of 
losing  a  word,  would  bend  forward  with  open  mouths  as 
well  as  attentive  ears.  It  was  always  a  hostile  audience 
at  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Phillips's  address,  but  before  the 
end  he  swayed  them  to  applause,  tears,  or  laughter,  as  a 
skilled  performer  upon  a  perfect  instrument.  His  sub 
ject  was  nearly  always  slavery,  This  views  very  extreme 
and  for  immediate  abolition,  but  at  that  time  he  had  a 
very  small  following.  Nevertheless,  his  speeches,  espe 
cially  because  of  the  riots  and  controversies  they  caused, 
set  people  thinking,  and  largely  increased  the  hostility 
to  slavery,  especially  to  its  extension. 

313 


3i4  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

I  met  Mr.  Phillips  one  evening,  after  a  lecture,  at  the 
house  of  Professor  Goodrich.  He  was  most  courtly  and 
considerate  to  students  and  invited  questions.  While  I 
was  charmed,  even  captivated,  by  his  eloquence,  I  had 
at  that  time  very  little  sympathy  with  his  views.  I  said 
to  him:  "Mr.  Phillips,  your  attack  to-night  upon  Caleb 
Gushing,  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  able  public  men 
in  the  country,  was  very  vitriolic  and  most  destructive 
of  character  and  reputation.  It  seems  so  foreign  to  all 
I  know  of  you  that,  if  you  will  pardon  me,  I  would  like 
to  know  why  you  did  it."  He  answered:  "I  have  found 
that  people,  as  a  rule,  are  not  interested  in  principles  or 
their  discussions.  They  are  so  absorbed  in  their  per 
sonal  affairs  that  they  do  very  little  thinking  upon  mat 
ters  outside  their  business  or  vocation.  They  embody  a 
principle  in  some  public  man  in  whom  they  have  faith, 
and  so  that  man  stands  for  a  great  body  of  truth  or 
falsehood,  and  may  be  exceedingly  dangerous  because  a 
large  following  connects  the  measure  with  the  man,  and, 
therefore,  if  I  can  destroy  the  man  who  represents  a 
vicious  principle  I  have  destroyed  the  principle."  It  did 
not  strike  me  favorably  at  the  time,  nor  does  it  now. 
Nevertheless,  in  politics  and  in  the  battles  of  politics  it 
represents  a  dynamic  truth. 

The  perfect  preparation  of  a  speech  was,  in  Wendell 
Phillip's  view,  that  one  in  which  the  mental  operations 
were  assisted  in  no  way  by  outside  aid.  Only  two  or 
three  times  in  his  life  did  he  prepare  with  pen  and  paper 
an  address,  and  he  felt  that  these  speeches  were  the 
poorest  of  his  efforts.  He  was  constantly  studying  the 
art  of  oratory.  In  his  daily  walks  or  in  his  library  meta 
phors  and  similes  were  suggested,  which  he  tucked  away 
in  his  memory,  and  he  even  studied  action  as  he  watched 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    315 

the  muscular  movements  of  men  whom  he  saw  in  public 
places.  He  believed  that  a  perfect  speech  could  be  pre 
pared  only  after  intense  mental  concentration.  Of 
course  the  mind  must  first  be  fortified  by  such  reading 
as  provided  facts.  Having  thus  saturated  his  mind  with 
information,  he  would  frequently  lie  extended  for  hours 
upon  his  sofa,  with  eyes  closed,  making  mental  arrange 
ments  for  the  address.  In  fact,  he  used  to  write  his 
speeches  mentally,  as  Victor  Hugo  is  said  to  have  writ 
ten  some  of  his  poems.  A  speech  thus  prepared,  Phillips 
thought,  was  always  at  the  command  of  the  speaker.  It 
might  vary  upon  every  delivery,  and  could  be  altered  to 
meet  emergencies  with  the  audience,  but  would  always 
be  practically  the  same. 

This  method  of  preparation  explains  what  has  been  a 
mystery  to  many  persons.  The  several  reports  of  Phil- 
lips's  lecture  on  "The  Lost  Arts"  differ  in  phraseology  and 
even  in  arrangement.  Mr.  Phillips  did  not  read  his 
speeches  in  print,  and,  therefore,  never  revised  one.  He 
was  firmly  of  the  belief  that  the  printed  thought  and  the 
spoken  thought  should  be  expressed  in  different  form, 
and  that  the  master  of  one  form  could  not  be  the  master 
of  the  other. 

I  met  many  young  men  like  myself  in  the  canvass  of 
1856,  and  also  made  many  acquaintances  of  great  value 
in  after-life.  It  was  difficult  for  the  older  stump  speak 
ers  to  change  the  addresses  they  had  been  delivering  for 
years,  so  that  the  young  orators,  with  their  fresh  enthu 
siasm,  their  intense  earnestness  and  undoubting  faith, 
were  more  popular  with  the  audiences,  who  were  keenly 
alive  to  the  issues  raised  then  by  the  new  Republican 
party. 

The  Republican  party  was  composed  of  Whigs  and 


316  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

anti-slavery  Democrats.  In  this  first  campaign  the  old- 
timers  among  the  Whigs  and  the  Democrats  could  not 
get  over  their  long  antagonism  and  distrusted  each  other. 
The  young  men,  whether  their  ancestry  was  Democratic 
or  Whig,  were  the  amalgam  which  rapidly  fused  all  ele 
ments,  so  that  the  party  presented  a  united  front  in  the 
campaign  four  years  afterwards  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
elected. 

In  the  course  of  that  campaign  I  had  as  fellow  speak 
ers  many  times  on  the  platform  statesmen  of  national 
reputation.  These  gentlemen,  with  few  exceptions,  made 
heavy,  ponderous,  and  platitudinous  speeches.  If  they 
ever  had  possessed  humor  they  were  afraid  of  it.  The 
crowd,  however,  would  invariably  desert  the  statesman 
for  the  speaker  who  could  give  them  amusement  with 
instruction.  The  elder  statesmen  said  by  way  of  advice: 
"While  the  people  want  to  be  amused,  they  have  no 
faith  in  a  man  or  woman  with  wit  or  anecdote.  When 
it  comes  to  the  election  of  men  to  conduct  public  affairs, 
they  invariably  prefer  serious  men."  There  is  no  doubt 
that  a  reputation  for  wit  has  seriously  impaired  the  pros 
pects  of  many  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  country. 

The  only  exception  to  this  rule  was  Abraham  Lincoln. 
But  when  he  ran  for  president  the  first  time  he  was  com 
paratively  unknown  outside  his  State  of  Illinois.  The 
campaign  managers  in  their  literature  put  forward  only 
his  serious  speeches,  which  were  very  remarkable,  espe 
cially  the  one  he  delivered  in  Cooper  Union,  New  York, 
which  deeply  impressed  the  thoughtful  men  of  the  East. 
He  could  safely  tell  stories  and  jokes  after  he  had  dem 
onstrated  his  greatness  as  president.  Then  the  people 
regarded  his  story-telling  as  the  necessary  relief  and  re 
laxation  of  an  overburdened  and  overworked  public  ser- 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    317 

vant.  But  before  he  had  demonstrated  his  genius  as  an 
executive,  they  would  probably  have  regarded  these 
same  traits  as  evidences  of  frivolity,  unfitting  the  pos 
sessor  for  great  and  grave  responsibilities. 

I  had  a  very  interesting  talk  on  the  subject  with  Gen 
eral  Garfield,  when  he  was  running  for  president.  He 
very  kindly  said  to  me:  "You  have  every  qualification 
for  success  in  public  life;  you  might  get  anywhere  and  to 
the  highest  places  except  for  your  humor.  I  know  its 
great  value  to  a  speaker  before  an  audience,  but  it  is 
dangerous  at  the  polls.  When  I  began  in  politics,  soon 
after  graduation,  I  found  I  had  a  keen  sense  of  humor, 
and  that  made  me  the  most  sought-after  of  all  our  neigh 
borhood  speakers,  but  I  also  soon  discovered  it  was  seri 
ously  impairing  the  public  opinion  of  me  for  responsible 
positions,  so  I  decided  to  cut  it  out.  It  was  very  diffi 
cult,  but  I  have  succeeded  so  thoroughly  that  I  can  no 
longer  tell  a  story  or  appreciate  the  point  of  one  when 
it  is  told  to  me.  Had  I  followed  my  natural  bent  I 
should  not  now  be  the  candidate  of  my  party  for  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States." 

The  reason  so  few  men  are  humorists  is  that  they  are 
very  shy  of  humor.  My  own  observations  in  studying 
the  lives  and  works  of  our  public  men  demonstrate  how 
thoroughly  committed  to  this  idea  they  have  been. 
There  is  not  a  joke,  nor  a  mot,  nor  a  scintilla  of  humor 
irradiating  the  Revolutionary  statesmen.  There  is  a 
stilted  dignity  about  their  utterances  which  shows  that 
they  were  always  posing  in  heroic  attitudes.  If  they 
lived  and  moved  in  family,  social,  and  club  life,  as  we 
understand  it,  the  gloom  of  their  companionship  ac 
counts  for  the  enjoyment  which  their  contemporaries  took 
in  the  three  hours'  sermons  then  common  from  the  pulpit. 


3i8  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

As  we  leave  the  period  of  Washington,  Hamilton,  Jef 
ferson,  and  the  Adamses,  we  find  no  humor  in  the  next 
generation.  The  only  relief  from  the  tedium  of  argu 
ment  and  exhaustless  logic  is  found  in  the  savage  sarcasm 
of  John  Randolph,  which  was  neither  wit  nor  humor. 

A  witty  illustration  or  an  apt  story  will  accomplish 
more  than  columns  of  argument.  The  old-time  audience 
demanded  a  speech  of  not  less  than  two  hours' 'duration 
and  expected  three.  The  audience  of  to-day  grows  res 
tive  after  the  first  hour,  and  is  better  pleased  with  forty 
minutes.  It  prefers  epigrams  to  arguments  and  humor 
to  rhetoric.  It  is  still  true,  however,  that  the  press  pre 
sents  to  readers  from  a  speaker  who  indulges  in  humor 
only  the  funny  part  of  his  effort,  and  he  is  in  serious  dan 
ger  of  receiving  no  credit  for  ability  in  the  discussion  of 
great  questions,  no  matter  how  conspicuous  that  ability 
may  be.  The  question  is  always  presented  to  a  frequent 
speaker  whether  he  shall  win  the  applause  of  the  audi 
ence  and  lose  the  flattering  opinion  of  the  critics,  or  bore 
his  audience  and  be  complimented  by  readers  for  wisdom. 

When  I  look  back  over  sixty-five  years  on  the  plat 
form  in  public  speaking,  and  the  success  of  different 
methods  before  audiences,  political,  literary,  business,  or 
a  legislative  committee,  or  a  legislature  itself,  and  espe 
cially  when  I  consider  my  own  pleasure  in  the  efforts, 
the  results  and  compensations  have  been  far  greater  than 
the  attainment  of  any  office.  For,  after  all,  a  man  might 
be  dull  and  a  bore  to  himself  and  others  for  a  lifetime 
and  have  the  reputation  of  being  a  serious  thinker  and 
a  solid  citizen,  and  yet  never  reach  the  presidency. 

It  was  always  a  delight  to  listen  to  George  W.  Curtis. 
He  was  a  finished  orator  of  the  classic  type,  but  not  of 
the  Demosthenian  order.  His  fine  personal  appearance, 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    319 

his  well-modulated  and  far-reaching  voice,  and  his 
refined  manner  at  once  won  the  favor  of  his  audience. 
He  was  a  splendid  type  of  the  scholar  in  politics.  In 
preparing  a  speech  he  took  as  much  pains  as  he  did 
with  a  volume  which  he  was  about  to  publish. 

I  accepted  under  great  pressure  the  invitation  to  de 
liver  the  oration  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Bartholdi  Stat 
ue  of  Liberty  in  New  York  harbor,  because  the  time 
was  so  short,  only  a  few  days.  Mr.  Curtis  said  to  me 
afterwards:  "I  was  very  much  surprised  that  you  ac 
cepted  that  invitation.  I  declined  it  because  there  was 
only  a  month  left  before  the  unveiling.  I  invariably 
refuse  an  invitation  for  an  important  address  unless  I 
can  have  three  months.  I  take  one  month  to  look  up 
authorities  and  carefully  prepare  it  and  then  lay  it  on 
the  shelf  for  a  month.  During  that  period,  while  you 
are  paying  no  attention  to  the  matter,  your  mind  is  un 
consciously  at  work  upon  it.  When  you  resume  cor 
recting  your  manuscript  you  find  that  in  many  things 
about  which  you  thought  well  you  have  changed  your 
mind.  Leisurely  corrections  and  additions  will  perfect 
the  address." 

As  my  orations  and  speeches  have  always  been  the 
by-product  of  spare  evenings  and  Sundays  taken  from 
an  intensely  active  and  busy  life,  if  I  had  followed  any 
of  these  examples  my  twelve  volumes  of  speeches  would 
never  have  seen  the  light  of  day. 

One  of  the  greatest  orators  of  his  generation,  and  I 
might  say  of  ours,  was  Robert  G.  IngersoII.  I  was  privi 
leged  to  meet  Colonel  IngersoII  many  times,  and  on 
several  occasions  to  be  a  speaker  on  the  same  platform. 
The  zenith  of  his  fame  was  reached  by  his  "plumed- 
knight"  speech,  nominating  James  G.  Elaine  for  presi- 


320  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

dent  at  the  national  Republican  convention  in  1876. 
It  was  the  testimony  of  all  the  delegates  that  if  the  vote 
could  have  been  taken  immediately  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  speech,  Mr.  Elaine  would  have  been  elected. 

Colonel  IngersoII  carried  off  the  oratorical  honors  of 
that  campaign  in  a  series  of  speeches,  covering  the  whole 
country.  I  say  a  series  of  speeches;  he  really  had  but 
one,  which  was  the  most  effective  campaign  address  I 
ever  heard,  but  which  he  delivered  over  and  over  again, 
and  every  time  with  phenomenal  success,  a  success  the 
like  of  which  I  have  never  known.  He  delivered  it  to 
an  immense  audience  in  New  York,  and  swept  them  off 
their  feet.  He  repeated  this  triumph  the  next  day  at 
an  open-air  meeting  in  Wall  Street,  and  again  the  next 
day  at  a  great  gathering  in  New  Jersey.  The  news 
papers  printed  the  speech  in  full  every  day  after  its  de 
livery,  as  if  it  had  been  a  new  and  first  utterance  of  the 
great  orator. 

I  spoke  with  him  several  times  when  he  was  one  of  the 
speakers  after  an  important  dinner.  It  was  a  rare  treat 
to  hear  him.  The  effort  apparently  was  impromptu, 
and  that  added  to  its  effect  upon  his  auditors.  That  it 
was  thoroughly  prepared  I  found  by  hearing  it  several 
times,  always  unchanged  and  always  producing  the 
same  thrilling  effect. 

He  spoke  one  night  at  Cooper  Institute  at  a  celebra 
tion  by  the  colored  people  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation 
emancipating  them  from  slavery.  As  usual  he  was  mas 
ter  of  the  occasion  and  of  his  audience.  He  was  then 
delivering  a  series  of  addresses  attacking  the  Bible.  His 
mind  was  full  of  that  subject,  and  apparently  he  could 
not  help  assailing  the  faith  of  the  negroes  by  asking,  if 
there  was  a  God  of  justice  and  mercy,  why  did  he  leave 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    321 

them  so  long  in  slavery  or  permit  them  ever  to  be 
slaves. 

To  an  emotional  audience  like  the  one  before  him  it 
was  a  most  dangerous  attack  upon  faith.  I  was  so  fond 
of  the  colonel  and  such  an  intense  admirer  of  him,  I 
hated  to  controvert  him,  but  felt  it  was  necessary  to  do 
so.  The  religious  fervor  which  is  so  intense  with  the 
colored  people,  made  it  comparatively  easy  to  restore 
their  faith,  if  it  had  been  weakened,  and  to  bring  them 
to  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  their  blessings  had  all 
come  from  God. 

Probably  the  most  brilliant  speaker  of  the  period  im 
mediately  preceding  the  Civil  War  was  Thomas  Corwin, 
of  Ohio.  We  have  on  the  platform  in  these  times  no 
speaker  of  his  type.  He  had  remarkable  influence  when 
ever  he  participated  in  debate  in  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives.  On  the  stump  or  hustings  he  would  draw  audi 
ences  away  from  Henry  Clay  or  any  of  the  famous 
speakers  of  the  time.  I  sometimes  wonder  if  our  more 
experienced  and  more  generally  educated  audiences  of 
to-day  would  be  swayed  by  Corwin's  methods.  He  had 
to  the  highest  degree  every  element  of  effective  speech. 
He  could  put  his  audience  in  tears  or  hilarious  laughter, 
or  arouse  cheers.  He  told  more  stories  and  told  them 
better  than  any  one  else,  and  indulged  freely  in  what  is 
called  Fourth  of  July  exaggeration.  He  would  relieve  a 
logical  presentation  which  was  superb  and  unanswerable 
by  a  rhetorical  flight  of  fancy,  or  by  infectious  humor. 
Near  the  close  of  his  life  he  spoke  near  New  York,  and 
his  great  reputation  drew  to  the  meeting  the  representa 
tives  of  the  metropolitan  press.  He  swept  the  audience 
off  their  feet,  but  the  comment  of  the  journals  was  very 
critical  and  unfavorable,  both  of  the  speech  and  the 


322  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

orator.  It  was  an  illustration  of  what  I  have  often  met 
with:  of  a  speech  which  was  exactly  the  right  thing  for 
the  occasion  and  crowd,  but  lost  its  effect  in  publication. 
Corwin's  humor  barred  his  path  to  great  office,  and  he 
saw  many  ordinary  men  advance  ahead  of  him. 

The  most  potent  factor  in  the  destruction  of  his  ene 
mies  and  buttressing  his  own  cause  was  his  inimitable 
wit  and  humor.  In  broad  statesmanship,  solid  require 
ments,  and  effective  eloquence,  he  stood  above  the  suc 
cessful  mediocrity  of  his  time — the  Buchanans  and  the 
Polks,  the  Franklin  Pierces  and  the  Winfield  Scotts — 
like  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  above  the  Milky  Way. 
But  in  later  years  he  thought  the  failure  to  reach  the 
supreme  recognition  to  which  he  was  entitled  was  due 
to  his  humor  having  created  the  impression  in  the  minds 
of  his  countrymen  that  he  was  not  a  serious  person. 

Wayne  MacVeagh  was  a  very  interesting  and  original 
speaker.  He  had  a  finished  and  cultured  style  and  a 
very  attractive  delivery.  He  was  past  master  of  sarcasm 
as  well  as  of  burning  eloquence  on  patriotic  themes. 
When  I  was  a  freshman  at  Yale  he  was  a  senior.  I 
heard  him  very  often  at  our  debating  society,  the  Lino- 
nian,  where  he  gave  promise  of  his  future  success.  His 
father-in-law  was  Simon  Cameron,  secretary  of  war,  and 
he  was  one  of  the  party  which  went  with  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
Gettysburg  and  heard  Lincoln's  famous  address.  He 
told  me  that  it  did  not  produce  much  impression  at  the 
time,  and  it  was  long  after  before  the  country  woke  up  to 
its  surpassing  excellence,  and  he  did  not  believe  the  story 
still  current  that  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  it  on  an  envelope 
while  on  the  train  to  Gettysburg. 

MacVeagh  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  American 
bar  and  was  at  one  time  attorney-general  of  the  United 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    323 

States.  He  was  successful  as  a  diplomat  as  minister  to 
Turkey  and  to  Italy. 

I  heard  him  on  many  occasions  and  spoke  with  him  on 
many  after-dinner  platforms.  As  an  after-dinner  speaker 
he  was  always  at  his  best  if  some  one  attacked  him,  be 
cause  he  had  a  very  quick  temper.  He  got  off  on  me  a 
witticism  which  had  considerable  vogue  at  the  time. 
When  I  was  elected  president  of  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad,  the  Yale  Association  of  New  York  gave  me  a 
dinner.  It  was  largely  attended  by  distinguished  Yale 
graduates  from  different  parts  of  the  country.  Mac- 
Veagh  was  one  of  the  speakers.  In  the  course  of  his 
speech  he  said:  "I  was  alarmed  when  I  found  that  our 
friend  Chauncey  had  been  elected  president  of  the  most 
unpopular  railroad  there  is  in  the  country.  But  rest 
assured,  my  friends,  that  he  will  change  the  situation, 
and  before  his  administration  is  closed  make  it  the  most 
popular  of  our  railroad  corporations,  because  he  will 
bring  the  stock  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  citizen 
of  the  land."  The  stock  was  then  at  the  lowest  point  in 
its  history  on  account  of  its  life-and-death  fight  with  the 
West  Shore  Railroad,  and  so,  of  course,  the  reverse  of 
my  friend  MacVeagh's  prediction  was  not  difficult. 

One  of  the  greatest  and  most  remarkable  orators  of 
his  time  was  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  I  never  met  his 
equal  in  readiness  and  versatility.  His  vitality  was  in 
fectious.  He  was  a  big,  healthy,  vigorous  man  with  the 
physique  of  an  athlete,  and  his  intellectual  fire  and  vigor 
corresponded  with  his  physical  strength.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  limit  to  his  ideas,  anecdotes,  illustrations,  and 
incidents.  He  had  a  fervid  imagination  and  wonderful 
power  of  assimilation  and  reproduction  and  the  most  ob 
servant  of  eyes.  He  was  drawing  material  constantly 


324  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

from  the  forests,  the  flowers,  the  gardens,  and  the  domes 
tic  animals  in  the  fields  and  in  the  house,  and  using  them 
most  effectively  in  his  sermons  and  speeches.  An  inti 
mate  friend  of  mine,  a  country  doctor  and  great  admirer 
of  Mr.  Beecher,  became  a  subscriber  to  the  weekly  paper 
in  which  was  printed  his  Sunday  sermon,  and  carefully 
guarded  a  file  of  them  which  he  made.  He  not  only 
wanted  to  read  the  sermons  of  his  favorite  preacher,  but 
he  believed  him  to  have  infinite  variety,  and  was  con 
stantly  examining  the  efforts  of  his  idol  to  see  if  he  could 
not  find  an  illustration,  anecdote,  or  idea  repeated. 

Mr.  Beecher  seemed  to  be  teeming  with  ideas  all  the 
time,  almost  to  the  point  of  bursting.  While  most  ora 
tors  are  relying  upon  their  libraries  and  their  common 
place  book,  and  their  friends  for  material,  he  apparently 
found  more  in  every  twenty-four  hours  than  he  could 
use.  His  sermons  every  Sunday  appeared  in  the  press. 
He  lectured  frequently;  several  times  a  week  he  delivered 
after-dinner  speeches,  and  during  such  intervals  as  he 
had  he  made  popular  addresses,  spoke  at  meetings  on 
municipal  and  general  reform,  and  on  patriotic  occasions. 
One  of  the  most  effective,  and  for  the  time  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  addresses  I  ever  heard  in  my  life  was  the 
one  he  delivered  at  the  funeral  of  Horace  Greeley. 

When  the  sentiment  in  England  in  favor  of  the  South 
in  our  Civil  War  seemed  to  be  growing  to  a  point  where 
Great  Britain  might  recognize  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
Mr.  Lincoln  asked  Mr.  Beecher  to  go  over  and  present 
the  Union  side.  Those  speeches  of  Mr.  Beecher,  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  country,  to  hostile  audiences,  were 
probably  as  extraordinary  an  evidence  of  oratorical 
power  as  was  ever  known.  He  captured  audiences,  he 
overcame  the  hostility  of  persistent  disturbers  of  the 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    325 

meetings,  and  with  his  ready  wit  overwhelmed  the 
heckler. 

At  one  of  the  great  meetings,  when  the  sentiment  was 
rapidly  changing  from  hostility  to  favor,  a  man  arose 
and  asked  Mr.  Beecher:  "If  you  people  of  the  North  are 
so  strong  and  your  cause  is  so  good,  why  after  all  these 
years  of  fighting  have  you  not  licked  the  South?"  Mr. 
Beecher's  instant  and  most  audacious  reply  was:  "If  the 
Southerners  were  Englishmen  we  would  have  licked 
them."  With  the  English  love  of  fair  play,  the  retort 
was  accepted  with  cheers. 

While  other  orators  were  preparing,  he  seemed  to  be 
seeking  occasions  for  talking  and  drawing  from  an  over 
flowing  reservoir.  Frequently  he  would  spend  an  hour 
with  a  crowd  of  admirers,  just  talking  to  them  on  any 
subject  which  might  be  uppermost  in  his  mind.  I  knew 
an  authoress  who  was  always  present  at  these  gatherings, 
who  took  copious  notes  and  reproduced  them  with  great 
fidelity.  There  were  circles  of  Beecher  worshippers  in 
many  towns  and  in  many  States.  This  authoress  used 
to  come  to  New  Haven  in  my  senior  year  at  Yale,  and  in 
a  circle  of  Beecher  admirers,  which  I  was  permitted  to 
attend,  would  reproduce  these  informal  talks  of  Mr. 
Beecher.  He  was  the  most  ready  orator,  and  with  his 
almost  feminine  sympathies  and  emotional  nature  would 
add  immensely  to  his  formal  speech  by  ideas  which 
would  occur  to  him  in  the  heat  of  delivery,  or  with  com 
ment  upon  conversations  which  he  had  heard  on  the 
way  to  church  or  meeting. 

I  happened  to  be  on  a  train  with  him  on  an  all-day 
journey,  and  he  never  ceased  talking  in  the  most  inter 
esting  and  effective  way,  and  pouring  out  from  his  rich 
and  inexhaustible  stores  with  remarkable  lucidity  and 


326  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

eloquence  his  views  upon  current  topics,  as  well  as  upon 
recent  literature,  art,  and  world  movements. 

Beecher's  famous  trial  on  charges  made  by  Theodore 
Tilton  against  him  on  relations  with  Tilton's  wife  en 
grossed  the  attention  of  the  world.  The  charge  was  a 
shock  to  the  religious  and  moral  sense  of  countless  mil 
lions  of  people.  When  the  trial  was  over  the  public  was 
practically  convinced  of  Mr.  Beecher's  innocence.  The 
jury,  however,  disagreed,  a  few  holding  out  against  him. 
The  case  was  never  again  brought  to  trial.  The  trial 
lasted  six  months. 

One  evening  when  I  was  in  Peekskill  I  went  from  our 
old  homestead  into  the  crowded  part  of  the  village,  to  be 
with  old  friends.  I  saw  there  a  large  crowd  and  also  the 
village  military  and  fire  companies.  I  asked  what  it 
was  all  about,  and  was  informed  that  the  whole  town 
was  going  out  to  Mr.  Beecher's  house,  which  was  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  from  the  village,  to  join  in  a 
demonstration  for  his  vindication.  I  took  step  with  one 
of  the  companies  to  which  I  belonged  when  I  was  a  boy, 
and  marched  out  with  the  crowd. 

The  president  of  the  village  and  leading  citizens,  one 
after  another,  mounted  the  platform,  which  was  the 
piazza  of  Mr.  Beecher's  house,  and  expressed  their  con 
fidence  in  him  and  the  confidence  of  his  neighbors,  the 
villagers.  Then  Mr.  Beecher  said  to  me:  "You  were 
born  in  this  town  and  are  known  all  over  the  country. 
If  you  feel  like  saying  something  it  would  travel  far." 
Of  course,  I  was  very  glad  of  the  opportunity  because  I 
believed  in  him.  In  the  course  of  my  speech  I  told  a 
story  which  had  wonderful  vogue.  I  said:  "Mr.  Lincoln 
told  me  of  an  experience  he  had  in  his  early  practice 
when  he  was  defending  a  man  who  had  been  accused  of 


ORATORS  AND   CAMPAIGN   SPEAKERS    327 

a  vicious  assault  upon  a  neighbor.  There  were  no  wit 
nesses,  and  under  the  laws  of  evidence  at  that  time  the 
accused  could  not  testify.  So  the  complainant  had  it 
all  his  own  way.  The  only  opportunity  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
to  help  his  client  was  to  break  down  the  accuser  on  a 
cross-examination.  Mr.  Lincoln  said  he  saw  that  the 
accuser  was  a  boastful  and  bumptious  man,  and  so 
asked  him:  'How  much  ground  was  there  over  which 
you  and  my  client  fought?'  The  witness  answered 
proudly:  'Six  acres,  Mr.  Lincoln.'  'Well,'  said  Lin 
coln,  'don't  you  think  this  was  a  mighty  small  crop  of 
fight  to  raise  on  such  a  large  farm?'  Mr.  Lincoln  said 
the  judge  laughed  and  so  did  the  district  attorney  and 
the  jury,  and  his  client  was  acquitted." 

The  appositeness  was  in  the  six  acres  of  ground  of 
the  Lincoln  trial  and  of  the  six  months  of  the  Beecher 
trial.  As  this  was  a  new  story  of  Lincoln's,  which  ha<^ 
never  been  printed,  and  as  it  related  to  the  trial  of  the 
most  famous  of  preachers  on  the  worst  of  charges  that 
could  be  made  against  a  preacher,  the  story  was  printed 
all  over  the  country,  and  from  friends  and  consular 
agents  who  sent  me  clippings  I  found  was  copied  in 
almost  every  country  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Beecher  was  one  of  the  few  preachers  who  was 
both  most  effective  in  the  pulpit  and,  if  possible,  more 
eloquent  upon  the  platform.  When  there  was  a  moral 
issue  involved  he  would  address  political  audiences.  In 
one  campaign  his  speeches  were  more  widely  printed 
than  those  of  any  of  the  senators,  members  of  the  House, 
or  governors  who  spoke.  I  remember  one  illustration  of 
his  about  his  dog,  Noble,  barking  for  hours  at  the  hole 
from  which  a  squirrel  had  departed,  and  was  enjoying 
the  music  sitting  calmly  in  the  crotch  of  a  tree.  The 


328  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

illustration  caught  the  fancy  of  the  country  and  turned 
the  laugh  upon  the  opposition. 

Hugh  J.  Hastings,  at  one  time  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  Albany  Knickerbocker,  and  subsequently  of  the 
New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  was  full  of  valuable 
reminiscences.  He  began  life  in  journalism  as  a  very 
young  man  under  Thurlow  Weed.  This  association 
made  him  a  Whig.  Very  few  Irishmen  belonged  to  that 
party.  Hastings  was  a  born  politician  and  organized 
an  Irish  Whig  club.  He  told  me  that  he  worshipped 
Daniel  Webster. 

Webster,  he  said,  once  stopped  over  at  Albany  while 
passing  through  the  State,  and  became  a  guest  of  one  of 
Albany's  leading  citizens  and  its  most  generous  host  and 
entertainer.  The  gentleman  gave  in  Webster's  honor  a 
large  dinner  at  which  were  present  all  the  notables  of 
the  capital. 

Hastings  organized  a  procession  which  grew  to  enor 
mous  proportions  by  the  time  it  reached  the  residence 
where  Mr.  Webster  was  dining.  When  the  guests  came 
out,  it  was  evident,  according  to  Hastings,  that  they  had 
been  dining  too  well.  This  was  not  singular,  because 
then  no  dinner  was  perfect  in  Albany  unless  there  were 
thirteen  courses  and  thirteen  different  kinds  of  wine,  and 
the  whole  closed  up  with  the  famous  Regency  rum, 
which  had  been  secured  by  Albany  bon-vivants  before 
the  insurrection  in  the  West  Indies  had  stopped  its 
manufacture.  There  was  a  kick  in  it  which,  if  there  had 
been  no  other  brands  preceding,  was  fatal  to  all  except 
the  strongest  heads.  I  tested  its  powers  myself  when  I 
was  in  office  in  Albany  fifty-odd  years  ago. 

Hastings  said  that  when  Webster  began  his  speech  he 
was  as  near  his  idol  as  possible  and  stood  right  in  front 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    329 

of  him.  When  the  statesman  made  a  gesture  to  empha 
size  a  sentence  he  lost  his  hold  on  the  balustrade  and 
pitched  forward.  The  young  Irishman  was  equal  to  the 
occasion,  and  interposed  an  athletic  arm,  which  pre 
vented  Mr.  Webster  from  falling,  and  held  him  until  he 
had  finished  his  address.  The  fact  that  he  could  con 
tinue  his  address  under  such  conditions  increased,  if  that 
was  possible,  the  admiration  of  young  Hastings.  Web 
ster  was  one  of  the  few  men  who,  when  drunk  all  over, 
had  a  sober  head. 

The  speech  was  very  effective,  not  only  to  that  audi 
ence,  but,  as  reported,  all  over  the  country.  Hastings 
was  sent  for  and  escorted  to  the  dining-room,  where  the 
guests  had  reassembled.  Webster  grasped  him  by  the 
hand,  and  in  his  most  Jovian  way  exclaimed:  "Young 
man,  you  prevented  me  from  disgracing  myself.  I  thank 
you  and  will  never  forget  you."  Hastings  reported  his 
feelings  as  such  that  if  he  had  died  that  night  he  had 
received  of  life  all  it  had  which  was  worth  living  for. 

I  do  not  know  what  were  Mr.  Webster's  drinking 
habits,  but  the  popular  reports  in  regard  to  them  had  a 
very  injurious  effect  upon  young  men  and  especially 
young  lawyers.  It  was  the  universal  conversation  that 
Webster  was  unable  to  do  his  best  work  and  have  his 
mind  at  its  highest  efficiency  except  under  the  influence 
of  copious  drafts  of  brandy.  Many  a  young  lawyer 
believing  this  drank  to  excess,  not  because  he  loved 
alcohol,  but  because  he  believed  its  use  might  make  him 
a  second  Webster. 

Having  lived  in  that  atmosphere,  I  tried  the  experi 
ment  myself.  Happily  for  me,  I  discovered  how  utterly 
false  it  is.  I  tried  the  hard  liquors,  brandy,  whiskey, 
and  gin,  and  then  the  wines.  I  found  that  all  had  a  de- 


330  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

pressing  and  deadening  effect  upon  the  mind,  but  that 
there  was  a  certain  exhilaration,  though  not  a  healthy 
one,  in  champagne.  I  also  discovered,  and  found  the 
same  was  true  with  every  one  else,  that  the  mind  works 
best  and  produces  the  more  satisfactory  results  without 
any  alcohol  whatever. 

I  doubt  if  any  speaker,  unless  he  has  become  depen 
dent  upon  stimulants,  can  use  them  before  making  an 
important  effort  without  having  his  mental  machinery 
more  or  less  clogged.  I  know  it  is  reported  that  Addi- 
son,  whose  English  has  been  the  model  of  succeeding 
generations,  in  writing  his  best  essays  wore  the  carpet 
out  while  walking  between  sentences  from  the  sideboard 
where  the  brandy  was  to  his  writing-table.  But  they 
had  heroic  constitutions  and  iron-clad  digestive  appara 
tus  in  those  times,  which  have  not  been  transmitted  to 
their  descendants. 

I  heard  another  story  of  Webster  from  Horace  F; 
Clarke,  a  famous  lawyer  of  New  York,  and  a  great  friend 
of  his.  Mr.  Clarke  said  that  he  had  a  case  involving 
very  large  interests  before  the  chancellor.  He  discov 
ered  that  Mr.  Webster  was  at  the  Astor  House,  and 
called  upon  him.  Mr.  Webster  told  him  that  his  public 
and  professional  engagements  were  overwhelming,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  take  up  anything  new. 
Clarke  put  a  thousand  dollars  on  the  table  and  pleaded 
with  Mr.  Webster  to  accept  a  retainer.  Clarke  said  that 
Webster  looked  longingly  at  the  money,  saying:  "Young 
man,  you  cannot  imagine,  and  I  have  no  words  which  can 
express  how  much  I  need  that  money,  but  it  is  impossi 
ble.  However,  let  me  see  your  brief."  Webster  read  it 
over  and  then  said  to  Clarke:  "You  will  not  win  on  that 
brief,  but  if  you  will  incorporate  this,  I  think  your  case 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    331 

is  all  right."  Clarke  said  that  when  he  presented  the 
brief  and  made  his  argument  before  the  chancellor,  the 
chancellor  decided  in  his  favor,  wholly  on  the  suggestion 
made  by  Mr.  Webster.  An  eminent  lawyer  told  me  that 
studying  Mr.  Webster's  arguments  before  the  Supreme 
Court  and  the  decisions  made  in  those  cases,  he  discov 
ered  very  often  that  the  opinion  of  the  court  followed 
the  reasoning  of  this  marvellous  advocate. 

Henry  J.  Raymond  told  me  the  following  story  of  Mr. 
William  H.  Seward.  He  said  that  one  morning  a  mes 
senger  came  to  his  office  (Raymond  at  that  time  was 
editor  of  the  New  York  Times)  and  said  that  Mr.  Seward 
was  at  the  Astor  House  and  wanted  to  see  me.  When  I 
arrived  Mr.  Seward  said:  "I  am  on  my  way  to  my  home 
at  Auburn,  where  I  am  expected  to  deliver  a  speech  for 
the  whole  country  in  explanation  and  defense  of  our 
administration.  [Johnson  was  president.]  When  I  am 
ready  I  will  wire  you,  and  then  send  me  one  of  your  best 
reporters."  About  two  weeks  afterwards  Mr.  Ray 
mond  received  this  cryptic  telegram  from  Mr.  Seward: 
"Send  me  the  man  of  whom  I  spoke." 

When  the  reporter  returned  he  said  to  Mr.  Raymond: 
"When  I  arrived  at  Auburn  I  expected  that  a  great 
meeting  had  been  advertised,  but  there  were  no  hand 
bills,  notices,  or  anything  in  the  local  papers,  so  I  went 
up  to  Mr.  Seward's  house.  He  said  to  me:  'I  am  very 
glad  to  see  you.  Have  you  your  pencil  and  note- book? 
if  so,  we  will  make  a  speech.'  After  the  dictation  Mr. 
Seward  said:  *  Please  write  that  out  on  every  third  line, 
so  as  to  leave  room  for  corrections,  and  bring  it  back  to 
me  in  the  morning.'  When  I  gave  the  copy  to  Mr. 
Seward,  he  took  it  and  kept  it  during  the  day,  and  when 
I  returned  in  the  evening  the  vacant  space  had  been 


332  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

filled  with  corrections  and  new  matter.  Mr.  Seward 
said  to  me:  'Now  make  me  a  clean  copy  as  corrected.' 
When  I  returned  with  the  corrected  copy  he  remarked: 
*I  think  you  and  I  made  a  very  poor  speech.  Let  us 
try  it  again.'  The  same  process  was  repeated  a  second 
time,  and  this  corrected  copy  of  the  speech  was  delivered 
in  part  to  a  few  friends  who  were  called  into  Mr.  Seward's 
library  for  the  occasion.  The  next  morning  these  head 
lines  appeared  in  all  the  leading  papers  in  the  country: 
4  GREAT  SPEECH  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION 
BY  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  AT  A  BIG  MASS  MEETING 
AT  AUBURN,  N.  Y.'" 

In  the  career  of  a  statesman  a  phrase  will  often  make 
or  unmake  his  future.  In  the  height  of  the  slavery  ex 
citement  and  while  the  enforcement  of  the  fugitive-slave 
law  was  arousing  the  greatest  indignation  in  the  North, 
Mr.  Seward  delivered  a  speech  at  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
which  stirred  the  country.  In  that  speech,  while  pay 
ing  due  deference  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  he 
very  solemnly  declared  that  "there  is  a  higher  law." 
Mr.  Seward  sometimes  called  attention  to  his  position  by 
an  oracular  utterance  which  he  left  the  people  to  inter 
pret.  This  phrase,  "the  higher  law,"  became  of  first- 
class  importance,  both  in  Congress,  in  the  press,  and  on 
the  platform.  On  the  one  side,  it  was  denounced  as 
treason  and  anarchy.  On  the  other  side,  it  was  the  call 
of  conscience  and  of  the  New  Testament's  teaching  of 
the  rights  of  man.  It  was  one  of  the  causes  of  his  defeat 
for  the  presidency. 

Senator  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  afterwards 
vice-president,  was  in  great  demand.  He  was  clear  in 
his  historical  statements  and  emphatic  in  his  expression 
of  views.  If  he  had  any  apprehension  of  humor  he  never 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN   SPEAKERS    333 

showed  it  in  his  speeches.  His  career  had  been  very 
picturesque — from  unskilled  laborer  to  the  Senate  and 
the  vice-presidency.  The  impression  he  gave  was  of 
an  example  of  American  opportunity,  and  he  was  more 
impressive  and  influential  by  his  personality  and  history 
than  by  what  he  said. 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  and  popular  stump 
speakers  was  Daniel  S.  Dickinson.  He  had  been  a 
United  States  senator  and  party  leader,  and  was  a 
national  figure.  His  venerable  appearance  gave  force  to 
his  oratory.  He  seemed  to  be  of  great  age,  but  was 
remarkably  vigorous.  His  speeches  were  made  up  of 
epigrams  which  were  quotable  and  effective.  He  jumped 
rapidly  from  argument  to  anecdote  and  was  vitriolic  in 
attack. 

I  had  an  interesting  experience  with  Mr.  Dickinson 
when  running  for  secretary  of  state  in  1863.  The  draw 
ing  card  for  that  year,  and  the  most  sought-after  and 
popular  for  campaign  speaking,  was  Governor  Andrew, 
of  Massachusetts.  He  had  a  series  of  appointments  in 
New  York  State,  but  on  account  of  some  emergency  can 
celled  them  all.  The  national  and  State  committees 
selected  me  to  fill  his  appointments.  The  most  unsat 
isfactory  and  disagreeable  job  in  the  world  is  to  meet 
the  appointments  of  a  popular  speaker.  The  expecta 
tions  of  the  audience  have  been  aroused  to  a  degree  by 
propaganda  advertising  the  genius  and  accomplishments 
of  the  expected  speaker.  The  substitute  cannot  meet 
those  expectations,  and  an  angry  crowd  holds  him  re 
sponsible  for  their  disappointment. 

When  I  left  the  train  at  the  station  I  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  mass-meeting  of  several  counties  at  Deposit,  N.  Y. 
A  large  committee,  profusely  decorated  with  campaign 


334  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

badges,  were  on  the  platform  to  welcome  the  distin 
guished  war  governor  of  Massachusetts.  I  did  not  meet 
physically  their  expectations  of  an  impressive  statesman 
of  dignified  presence,  wearing  a  Prince  Albert  suit  and  a 
top  hat.  I  had  been  long  campaigning,  my  soft  hat  was 
disreputable,  and  I  had  added  a  large  shawl  to  my  cam 
paigning  equipment.  Besides  that,  I  was  only  twenty- 
eight  and  looked  much  younger.  The  committee  ex 
pected  at  least  sixty.  Finally  the  chairman  rushed  up 
to  me  and  said:  "You  were  on  the  train.  Did  you  see 
Governor  Andrew,  of  Massachusetts?"  I  answered 
him:  "  Governor  Andrew  is  not  coming;  he  has  cancelled 
all  his  engagements,  and  I  have  been  sent  to  take  his 
place."  The  chairman  gasped  and  then  exclaimed:  "  My 
God ! "  He  very  excitedly  summoned  his  fellow  mem 
bers  of  the  committee  and  said  to  them:  "Gentlemen, 
Governor  Andrew  is  not  coming,  but  the  State  commit 
tee  has  sent  this,"  pointing  to  me.  I  was  the  party  can 
didate  as  secretary  of  state,  and  at  the  head  of  the  ticket, 
but  nobody  asked  me  who  I  was,  nor  did  I  tell  them.  I 
was  left  severely  alone. 

Some  time  after,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  came 
to  me  and  said:  "Young  fellow,  we  won't  be  hard  on 
you,  but  the  State  committee  has  done  this  once  before. 
We  were  promised  a  very  popular  speaker  well  known 
among  us,  but  in  his  place  they  sent  the  damnedest  fool 
who  ever  stood  before  an  audience.  However,  we  have 
sent  to  Binghamton  for  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  and  he  will 
be  here  in  a  short  time  and  save  our  big  mass-meeting." 

Mr.  Dickinson  came  and  delivered  a  typical  speech; 
every  sentence  was  a  bombshell  and  its  explosion  very 
effective.  He  had  the  privilege  of  age,  and  told  a  story 
which  I  would  not  have  dared  to  tell,  the  audience  being 


ORATORS  AND   CAMPAIGN   SPEAKERS    335 

half  women.  He  said:  "Those  constitutional  lawyers, 
who  are  proclaiming  that  all  Mr.  Lincoln's  acts  are  un 
constitutional,  don't  know  any  law.  They  remind  me 
of  a  doctor  we  have  up  in  Binghamton,  who  has  a  large 
practice  because  of  his  fine  appearance,  his  big  words, 
and  gold-headed  cane.  He  was  called  to  see  a  young  lad 
who  was  sitting  on  his  grandmother's  lap.  After  looking 
at  the  boy's  tongue  and  feeling  his  pulse,  he  rested  his 
head  in  deep  thought  for  a  while  on  his  gold-headed  cane 
and  then  said:  'Madam,  this  boy  has  such  difficulties 
with  the  epiglottis  and  such  inflamed  larynx  that  we  will 
have  to  apply  phlebotomy/  The  old  lady  clasped  the 
boy  frantically  to  her  bosom  and  cried:  'For  heaven's 
sake,  doctor,  what  on  earth  can  ail  the  boy  that  you  are 
going  to  put  all  that  on  his  bottom?' ' 

Mr.  Dickinson  introduced  me  as  the  head  of  the  State 
ticket.  My  speech  proved  a  success,  and  the  chairman 
paid  me  the  handsome  compliment  of  saying:  "We  are 
glad  they  sent  you  instead  of  Governor  Andrew/' 

One  of  the  most  effective  of  our  campaign  speakers 
was  General  Bruce,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  The  general  had 
practically  only  one  speech,  which  was  full  of  picturesque 
illustrations,  striking  anecdotes,  and  highly  wrought-up 
periods  of  patriotic  exaltation.  He  delivered  this  speech, 
with  necessary  variations,  through  many  campaigns.  I 
was  with  the  general,  who  was  Canal  commissioner  when 
I  was  secretary  of  state,  on  our  official  tour  on  the  Canal. 

One  night  the  general  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Blank,  who 
has  a  great  reputation,  is  speaking  in  a  neighboring  town, 
and  I  am  going  to  hear  him."  He  came  back  enraged 
and  unhappy.  In  telling  me  about  it,  he  said:  "That 
infernal  thief  delivered  my  speech  word  for  word,  and 
better  than  I  can  do  it  myself.  I  am  too  old  to  get  up 


336  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

another  one,  and,  as  I  love  to  speak,  I  am  very  un 
happy." 

This  illustrated  one  of  the  accidents  to  which  a  cam 
paign  speaker  is  liable.  The  man  who  stole  the  general's 
speech  afterwards  played  the  same  trick  on  me.  He 
came  into  our  State  from  New  England  with  a  great 
reputation.  He  was  a  very  fine  elocutionist,  of  excellent 
presence  and  manner,  but  utterly  incapable  of  original 
thought.  He  could  not  prepare  a  speech  of  any  kind. 
However,  he  had  a  phenomenal  memory.  He  could  lis 
ten  to  a  speech  made  by  another  and  repeat  it  perfectly. 
His  attractive  appearance,  good  voice,  and  fine  elocution 
made  the  speech  a  great  success.  Several  orators  told  me 
that  when  they  found  their  efforts  a  failure  they  asked 
for  the  cause,  and  discovered  that  this  man  had  delivered 
their  speeches  a  few  nights  before,  and  the  audience,  of 
course,  thought  the  last  speaker  was  a  fraud  and  a  thief. 

General  Bruce  told  me  a  good  campaign  story  of 
Senator  James  W.  Nye,  of  Nevada.  Nye  was  a  promi 
nent  lawyer  of  western  New  York,  and  the  most  eloquent 
and  witty  member  of  the  bar  of  that  section,  and  also 
the  most  popular  campaign  speaker.  He  moved  to 
Nevada  and  so  impressed  the  people  of  that  young  State 
that  he  was  elected  United  States  senator.  In  the  Sen 
ate  he  became  a  notable  figure. 

Nye  and  General  Bruce  were  sent  by  the  national 
committee  to  canvass  New  England.  Nye  had  become 
senatorial  in  his  oratory,  with  much  more  dignity  and 
elevation  of  style  than  before.  He  began  his  first  speech 
at  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  in  this  way:  "Fellow  citizens,  I 
have  come  three  thousand  miles  from  my  mountain 
home,  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  to 
discuss  with  you  these  vital  questions  for  the  safety  of 


ORATORS  AND  CAMPAIGN  SPEAKERS    337 

our  republic/'  The  next  night,  at  New  Haven,  he  said: 
"I  have  come  from  my  mountain  home,  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  to  discuss  with  you  these 
vital  questions  of  the  safety  of  our  republic."  Bruce 
interrupted  him,  saying:  "Why,  senator,  it  was  only 
three  thousand  feet  last  night."  Nye  turned  savagely 
on  Bruce:  "Bruce,  you  go  to  the  devil!"  Resuming 
with  the  audience,  he  remarked  very  impressively:  "As 
I  was  saying,  fellow  citizens,  I  have  come  from  my 
mountain  home,  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  to,  etc." 

A  story  which  illustrates  and  enforces  the  argument 
helps  a  political  speech,  and  it  is  often  the  only  part  of 
the  speech  which  is  remembered.  I  have  often  heard 
people  say  to  me:  "I  heard  you  speak  thirty,  forty,  or 
fifty  years  ago,  and  this  is  the  story  you  told."  Some 
times,  however,  the  story  may  prove  a  boomerang  in  the 
most  unexpected  way. 

For  many  years,  when  I  spoke  in  northern  New  York 
I  was  always  met  at  the  Syracuse  station  by  a  superin 
tendent  of  the  Lackawanna  Railroad  with  a  special  train 
filled  with  friends.  He  carried  me  up  to  my  destination 
and  brought  me  back  in  the  morning.  It  was  his  great 
day  of  the  year,  and  during  the  trip  he  was  full  of  rem 
iniscences,  and  mainly  of  the  confidences  reposed  in  him 
by  the  president  of  the  road,  my  old  and  valued  friend, 
Samuel  Sloan. 

One  fall  he  failed  to  appear,  and  there  was  no  special 
train  to  meet  me.  I  was  told  by  friends  that  the  reason 
was  his  wife  had  died  and  he  was  in  mourning.  The 
morning  after  the  meeting  I  started  to  call  upon  him, 
but  was  informed  that  he  was  very  hostile  and  would  not 
see  me.  I  was  not  going  to  lose  an  old  friend  like  that 


338  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

and  went  up  to  his  office.  As  soon  as  I  entered,  he  said: 
"Go  away,  I  don't  want  to  see  you  again."  I  appealed 
to  him,  saying:  "I  cannot  lose  so  good  a  friend  as  you. 
If  there  is  anything  I  have  done  or  said,  I  will  do  every 
thing  in  my  power  to  make  it  right."  He  turned  on  me 
sharply  and  with  great  emotion  told  this  story:  "My 
wife  and  I  lived  in  loving  harmony  for  over  thirty  years, 
and  when  she  died  recently  I  was  heartbroken.  The 
whole  town  was  sympathetic;  most  of  the  business  houses 
closed  during  the  hour  of  the  funeral.  I  had  arranged  to 
have  ministers  whom  my  wife  admired,  and  with  them 
selected  passages  of  scriptures  and  hymns  to  which  she 
was  devoted.  A  new  minister  in  town  was  invited  by 
the  others  to  participate,  and  without  my  knowledge. 
I  looked  over  the  congregation,  all  Mary's  friends.  I 
listened  to  the  services,  which  Mary  herself  would  have 
chosen,  and  said  to  Mary's  spirit,  which  I  knew  to  be 
hovering  about:  'We  are  all  paying  you  a  loving  tribute.' 
Then  the  new  minister  had  for  his  part  the  announce 
ment  and  reading  of  a  hymn.  At  the  last  Republican 
convention  at  Saratoga,  in  order  to  illustrate  the  condi 
tion  of  the  Democratic  party,  you  told  a  story  about  a 
boy  walking  among  the  children's  graves  in  the  old  ceme 
tery  at  Peekskill,  eating  green  apples  and  whistling 
' Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee.'  The  new  minister  gave  that 
hymn,  'Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee.'  Your  story  came  up 
in  my  mind,  and  I  burst  out  laughing.  I  disgraced  my 
self,  insulted  the  memory  of  Mary,  and  I  never  want  to 
see  you  again." 


XXI 

NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  CONVENTIONS 

When  the  Republican  convention  met  in  1912  I  was 
again  a  delegate.  In  my  fifty-six  years  of  national  con 
ventions  I  never  had  such  an  intensely  disagreeable  ex 
perience.  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  support  President  Taft 
for  renomination.  I  thought  he  had  earned  it  by  his 
excellent  administration.  I  had  many  ties  with  him,  be 
ginning  with  our  associations  as  graduates  of  Yale,  and 
held  for  him  a  most  cordial  regard.  I  was  swayed  by 
my  old  and  unabated  love  for  Roosevelt.  In  that  com 
promise  and  harmony  were  impossible.  I  saw  that,  with 
the  control  of  the  organization  and  of  the  convention  on 
the  side  of  Mr.  Taft,  and  with  the  wild  support  for 
Roosevelt  of  the  delegates  from  the  States  which  could 
be  relied  upon  to  give  Republican  majorities,  the  nom 
ination  of  either  would  be  sure  defeat. 

I  was  again  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  convention 
of  1916.  The  party  was  united.  Progressives  and  con 
servatives  were  acting  together,  and  the  convention  was 
in  the  happiest  of  moods.  It  was  generally  understood 
that  Justice  Hughes  would  be  nominated  if  he  could  be 
induced  to  resign  from  the  Supreme  Court  and  accept. 
The  presiding  officer  of  the  convention  was  Senator 
Warren  G.  Harding.  He  made  a  very  acceptable  key 
note  speech.  His  fine  appearance,  his  fairness,  justice, 
and  good  temper  as  presiding  officer  captured  the  con 
vention.  There  was  a  universal  sentiment  that  if 
Hughes  declined  the  party  could  do  no  better  than  to 

339 


340  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

nominate  Senator  Harding.  It  was  this  impression 
among  the  delegates,  many  of  whom  were  also  members 
of  the  convention  of  1920,  which  led  to  the  selection  as 
the  convention's  candidate  for  president  of  Warren  G. 
Harding. 

My  good  mother  was  a  Presbyterian  and  a  good  Cal- 
vinist.  She  believed  and  impressed  upon  me  the  cer 
tainty  of  special  Providence.  It  is  hard  for  a  Republican 
to  think  that  the  election  of  Woodrow  Wilson  was  a 
special  Providence,  but  if  our  candidate,  Mr.  Hughes, 
had  been  elected  he  would  have  had  a  hostile  Demo 
cratic  majority  in  Congress. 

When  the  United  States  went  into  the  war,  as  it  must 
have  done,  the  president  would  have  been  handicapped 
by  this  pacifist  Congress.  The  draft  would  have  been 
refused,  without  which  our  army  of  four  millions  could 
not  have  been  raised.  The  autocratic  measures  neces 
sary  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  would  have  been  denied. 
With  the  conflict  between  the  executive  and  Congress, 
our  position  would  have  been  impossible  and  indefensible. 

I  had  a  personal  experience  in  the  convention.  Chair 
man  Harding  sent  one  of  the  secretaries  to  me  with  a 
message  that  there  was  an  interval  of  about  an  hour 
when  the  convention  would  have  nothing  to  do.  It  was 
during  such  a  period  the  crank  had  his  opportunity 
and  the  situation  was  dangerous,  and  he  wished  me  to 
come  to  the  platform  and  fill  as  much  of  that  hour  as 
possible.  I  refused  on  the  ground  that  I  was  wholly 
unprepared,  and  it  would  be  madness  to  attempt  to 
speak  to  fourteen  thousand  people  in  the  hall  and  a 
hundred  million  outside. 

A  few  minutes  afterwards  Governor  Whitman,  chair 
man  of  the  New  York  delegation,  came  to  me  and  said : 


NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  CONVENTIONS    341 

"You  must  be  drafted.  The  chairman  will  create  some 
business  to  give  you  fifteen  minutes  to  think  up  your 
speech."  I  spurred  my  gray  matter  as  never  before, 
and  was  then  introduced  and  spoke  for  forty-five  min 
utes.  I  was  past  eighty-two.  The  speech  was  a  suc 
cess,  but  when  I  returned  to  my  seat  I  remembered  what 
General  Garfield  had  so  earnestly  said  to  me:  "You  are 
the  only  man  of  national  reputation  who  will  speak  with 
out  preparation.  Unless  you  peremptorily  and  deci 
sively  stop  yielding  you  will  some  day  make  such  a 
failure  as  to  destroy  the  reputation  of  a  lifetime." 

In  a  letter  President  Harding  has  this  to  say  in  refer 
ence  to  the  occasion:  "Just  about  a  year  ago  (1916)  it 
was  my  privilege  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  con 
vention  at  Chicago  to  call  upon  you  for  an  address. 
There  was  a  hiatus  which  called  for  a  speech,  and  you 
so  wonderfully  met  the  difficult  requirements  that  I  sat 
in  fascinated  admiration  and  have  been  ready  ever  since 
to  pay  you  unstinted  tribute.  You  were  ever  eloquent 
in  your  more  active  years,  but  I  count  you  the  old  man 
eloquent  and  incomparable  in  your  eighties.  May  many 
more  helpful  and  happy  years  be  yours." 

I  was  again  a  delegate  to  the  convention  in  June,  1920. 
The  Republicans  had  been  for  eight  years  out  of  office 
during  Mr.  Wilson's  two  terms.  The  delegates  were  ex 
ceedingly  anxious  to  make  no  mistake  and  have  no  fric 
tion  in  the  campaign. 

The  two  leading  candidates,  General  Wood  and  Gov 
ernor  Lowden,  had  nearly  equal  strength  and  were  sup 
ported  by  most  enthusiastic  admirers  and  advocates. 
As  the  balloting  continued  the  rivalry  and  feeling  grew 
between  their  friends.  It  became  necessary  to  har 
monize  the  situation,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that 


342  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

this  could  be  best  done  by  selecting  Senator  Warren  G. 
Harding. 

Very  few  conventions  have  a  dramatic  surprise,  but 
the  nomination  of  Governor  Coolidge,  of  Massachusetts, 
for  vice-president  came  about  in  a  very  picturesque  way. 
He  had  been  named  for  president  among  the  others,  and 
the  speech  in  his  behalf  by  Speaker  Frederick  H.  Gillett 
was  an  excellent  one.  Somehow  the  convention  did  not 
seem  to  grasp  all  that  the  governor  stood  for  and  how 
strong  he  was  with  each  delegate.  When  the  nomina 
tions  for  vice-president  were  called  for,  Senator  Medill 
McCormick  presented  Senator  Lenroot,  of  Wisconsin,  in 
an  excellent  speech.  There  were  also  very  good  ad 
dresses  on  behalf  of  the  Governor  of  Kansas  and  others. 

When  the  balloting  was  about  to  start,  a  delegate 
from  Oregon  who  was  in  the  rear  of  the  hall  arose  and 
said:  "Mr.  Chairman."  The  chairman  said:  "The  gen 
tleman  from  Oregon."  The  Oregon  delegate,  in  a  far- 
reaching  voice,  shouted:  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  nominate  for 
vice-president  Calvin  Coolidge,  a  one-hundred-per-cent 
American."  The  convention  went  off  its  feet  with  a 
whoop  and  Coolidge  was  nominated  hands  down. 

I  again  had  a  personal  experience.  The  committee  on 
resolutions,  not  being  prepared  to  report,  there  was  that 
interval  of  no  business  which  is  the  despair  of  presiding 
officers  of  conventions.  The  crowd  suddenly  began 
calling  for  me.  While,  of  course,  I  had  thought  much 
on  the  subject,  I  had  not  expected  to  be  called  upon  and 
had  no  prepared  speech.  Happily,  fifteen  thousand 
faces  and  fifteen  thousand  voices  giving  uproarious  wel 
come  both  steadied  and  inspired  me.  Though  I  was 
past  eighty-six  years  of  age,  my  voice  was  in  as  good 
condition  as  at  forty,  and  was  practically  the  only  one 


NATIONAL  REPUBLICAN  CONVENTIONS    343 

which  did  fill  that  vast  auditorium.  The  press  of  the 
country  featured  the  effort  next  day  in  a  way  which  was 
most  gratifying. 

Among  the  thousands  who  greeted  me  on  the  streets 
and  in  the  hotel  lobbies  with  congratulations  and  efforts 
to  say  something  agreeable  and  complimentary,  I  selected 
one  compliment  as  unique.  He  was  an  enthusiast. 
"Chauncey  Depew,"  he  said,  "I  have  for  over  twenty 
years  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  you.  Your  speech 
was  a  wonder.  I  was  half  a  mile  off,  way  up  under  the 
roof,  and  heard  every  word  of  it,  and  it  was  the  only 
one  I  was  able  to  hear.  That  you  should  do  this  in 
your  eighty-seventh  year  is  a  miracle.  But  then  my 
father  was  a  miracle.  On  his  eighty-fifth  birthday  he 
was  in  just  as  good  shape  as  you  are  to-day,  and  a  week 
afterwards  he  was  dead." 


XXII 

JOURNALISTS  AND  FINANCIERS 

In  reminiscences  of  my  journalistic  friends  I  do  not 
include  many  of  the  most  valued  who  are  still  living. 
Of  those  who  have  passed  away  one  of  the  most  faithful 
and  devoted  was  Edward  H.  Butler,  editor  and  pro 
prietor  of  the  Buffalo  Evening  News. 

Mr.  Butler  began  at  the  bottom  as  a  newspaper  man, 
and  very  early  and  rapidly  climbed  to  the  top.  He 
secured  control  of  the  Evening  News  and  soon  made  it 
one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  widely  circulated,  influ 
ential,  and  prosperous  papers  of  western  New  York. 
Personally  and  through  his  paper  he  was  for  many  years 
my  devoted  friend.  To  those  he  loved  he  had  an  un 
bounded  fidelity  and  generosity.  He  possessed  keen  in 
sight  and  kept  thoroughly  abreast  of  public  affairs,  and 
was  a  journalist  of  high  order. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  know  Charles  A.  Dana  very 
well.  I  first  met  him  when  he  was  on  the  New  York 
Tribune  and  closely  allied  with  Horace  Greeley.  He 
made  the  New  York  Sun  one  of  the  brightest,  most  origi 
nal,  and  most  quoted  newspapers  in  the  United  States. 
His  high  culture,  wonderful  command  of  English,  and 
refined  taste  gave  to  the  Sun  a  high  literary  position, 
and  at  the  same  time  his  audacity  and  criticism  made 
him  a  terror  to  those  with  whom  he  differed,  and  his 
editorials  the  delight  of  a  reader. 

Personally  Mr.  Dana  was  one  of  the  most  attractive 
and  charming  of  men.  As  assistant  secretary  of  war 

344 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS         345 

during  Lincoln's  administration  he  came  in  intimate 
contact  with  all  the  public  men  of  that  period,  and  as  a 
journalist  his  study  was  invaded  and  he  received  most 
graciously  men  and  women  famous  in  every  department 
of  intellectual  activity.  His  reminiscences  were  wonder 
ful  and  his  characterizations  remarkable.  He  might 
have  published  an  autobiography  of  rare  value  and 
interest. 

When  the«  elder  James  Gordon  Bennett  died  the  news 
paper  world  recognized  the  loss  of  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  and  successful  of  journalists  and  publishers. 
His  son  had  won  reputation  in  the  field  of  sport,  but  his 
contemporaries  doubted  his  ability  to  maintain,  much 
less  increase,  the  sphere  of  the  New  York  Herald.  But 
young  Bennett  soon  displayed  rare  originality  and  enter 
prise.  He  made  his  newspaper  one  of  national  and 
international  importance.  By  bringing  out  an  edition  in 
Paris  he  conferred  a  boon  upon  Americans  abroad.  For 
many  years  there  was  little  news  from  the  United  States 
in  foreign  newspapers,  but  Americans  crazy  for  news 
from  home  found  it  in  the  Paris  edition  of  the  New  York 
Herald. 

Mr.  Bennett  was  a  good  friend  of  mine  for  half  a  cen 
tury.  He  was  delightful  company,  with  his  grasp  of 
world  affairs  and  picturesque  presentation  of  them.  A 
President  of  the  United  States  who  wished  to  change  the 
hostile  attitude  of  the  Herald  towards  his  administration 
and  himself  asked  me  to  interview  Mr.  Bennett.  The 
editor  was  courteous,  frank,  but  implacable.  But  some 
time  afterwards  the  Herald  became  a  cordial  supporter 
of  the  president.  The  interview  and  its  subsequent 
result  displayed  a  characteristic  of  Bennett.  He  would 
not  recognize  that  his  judgment  or  action  could  be  influ- 


346  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

enced,  but  his  mind  was  so  open  and  fair  that  when  con 
vinced  that  he  was  wrong  he  would  in  his  own  way  and 
at  his  own  time  do  the  right  thing. 

Mr.  Bennett  did  me  once  an  essential  service.  It  was 
at  the  time  when  I  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  I  cabled  him  in  Paris  and  asked 
that  he  would  look  into  the  situation  through  his  confi 
dential  friends,  reporters,  and  employees,  and  if  he  found 
the  situation  warranted  his  taking  a  position  to  do  so. 
Of  course  the  Herald  was  an  independent  and  not  a  party 
journal  and  rarely  took  sides.  But  not  long  afterwards, 
editorially  and  reportorially,  the  emphatic  endorsement 
of  the  Herald  came,  and  positive  prediction  of  success, 
and  were  of  great  help.  He  was  one  of  my  groomsmen 
at  my  wedding  in  1901. 

Among  the  thousands  of  stories  which  appear  and  dis 
appear  like  butterflies,  it  is  a  curious  question  what 
vogue  and  circulation  one  can  have  over  others.  By  an 
accident  I  broke  one  of  the  tendons  of  my  heel  and  was 
laid  up  in  my  house  for  some  time,  unable  to  walk.  The 
surgeon  fixed  the  bandage  in  place  by  a  liquid  cement, 
which  soon  solidified  like  glass. 

Julian  Ralph,  a  brilliant  young  newspaper  reporter, 
wrote  a  long  story  in  the  New  York  Sun  about  a  wonder 
ful  glass  leg,  which  had  been  substituted  for  the  natural 
one  and  did  better  work.  The  story  had  universal  pub 
lication  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  abroad,  and 
interested  scientists  and  surgeons.  My  mail  grew  to 
enormous  proportions  with  letters  from  eager  inquirers 
wanting  to  know  all  the  particulars.  The  multitude  of 
unfortunates  who  had  lost  their  legs  or  were  dissatisfied 
with  artificial  ones  wrote  to  me  to  find  out  where  these 
wonderful  glass  legs  could  be  obtained. 


JOURNALISTS  AND  FINANCIERS         347 

The  glass-leg  story  nearly  killed  me,  but  it  gave  Ralph 
such  a  reputation  that  he  was  advanced  to  positions  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  where  his  literary  genius  and  imagi 
nation  won  him  many  honors,  but  he  never  repeated  his 
success  with  my  glass  leg. 

I  suppose,  having  been  more  than  half  a  century  in 
close  contact  with  matters  of  interest  to  the  public,  or 
officially  in  positions  where  I  was  a  party  to  corporate 
activities  or  movements  which  might  affect  the  market,  I 
have  been  more  interviewed  than  any  one  living  and  seen 
more  reporters.  No  reporter  has  ever  abused  the  con 
fidence  I  reposed  in  him.  He  always  appreciated  what 
I  told  him,  even  to  the  verge  of  indiscretion,  and  knew 
what  was  proper  for  him  to  reveal  and  what  was  not  for 
publication.  In  the  critical  situations  which  often  oc 
curred  in  railway  controversies,  this  cordial  relationship 
with  reporters  was  of  great  value  in  getting  our  side 
before  the  public. 

One  reporter  especially,  a  space  writer,  managed  for 
a  long  time  to  get  from  me  one-half  to  a  column  nearly 
every  day,  sometimes  appearing  as  interviews  and  at 
other  times  under  the  general  phrase:  "It  has  been 
learned  from  a  reliable  source." 

I  recall  a  personal  incident  out  of  the  ordinary.  I  was 
awakened  one  stormy  winter  night  by  a  reporter  who 
was  well  known  to  me,  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise. 
I  met  him  in  dressing  gown  and  slippers  in  my  library. 
There  he  told  me  that  his  wife  was  ill,  and  to  save  her 
life  the  doctor  informed  him  that  he  must  send  her  West 
to  a  sanitarium. 

"I  have  no  money,"  he  continued,  "and  will  not  bor 
row  nor  beg,  but  you  must  give  me  a  story  I  can  sell." 

We  discussed  various  matters  which  a  paper  would 


348  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

like  to  have,  and  finally  I  gave  him  a  veiled  but  still  in 
telligible  story,  which  we  both  knew  the  papers  were 
anxious  to  get.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  he  sold  the 
interview  for  enough  to  meet  his  present  needs  and  his 
wife's  journey.  Some  time  after  he  entered  Wall  Street 
and  made  a  success. 

I  have  known  well  nearly  all  the  phenomenally  suc 
cessful  business  men  of  my  time.  It  is  a  popular  idea 
that  luck  or  chance  had  much  to  do  with  their  careers. 
This  is  a  mistake.  All  of  them  had  vision  not  possessed 
by  their  fellows.  They  could  see  opportunities  where 
others  took  the  opposite  view,  and  they  had  the  courage 
of  their  convictions.  They  had  standards  of  their  own 
which  they  lived  up  to,  and  these  standards  differed 
widely  from  the  ethical  ideas  of  the  majority. 

Russell  Sage,  who  died  in  the  eighties,  had  to  his 
credit  an  estate  which  amounted  to  a  million  dollars  for 
every  year  of  his  life.  He  was  not  always  a  money 
maker,  but  he  was  educated  in  the  art  as  a  banker,  was 
diverted  into  politics,  elected  to  Congress,  and  became 
a  very  useful  member  of  that  body.  When  politics 
changed  and  he  was  defeated,  he  came  to  New  York 
and  speedily  found  his  place  among  the  survival  of  the 
fittest.  Mr.  Sage  could  see  before  others  when  bad 
times  would  be  followed  by  better  ones  and  securities 
rise  in  value,  and  he  also  saw  before  others  when  dis 
asters  would  follow  prosperity.  Relying  upon  his  own 
judgment,  he  became  a  winner,  whether  the  market 
went  up  or  down. 

I  met  Mr.  Sage  frequently  and  enjoyed  his  quick  and 
keen  appreciation  of  men  and  things.  Of  course,  I  knew 
that  he  cultivated  me  because  he  thought  that  from  my 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS         349 

official  position  he  might  possibly  gain  information  which 
he  could  use  in  the  market.  I  never  received  any  points 
from  him,  or  acted  upon  any  of  his  suggestions.  I  think 
the  reason  why  I  am  in  excellent  health  and  vigor  in  my 
eighty-eighth  year  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
points  or  suggestions  of  great  financiers  never  interested 
me.  I  have  known  thousands  who  were  ruined  by  them. 
The  financier  who  gives  advice  may  mean  well  as  to  the 
securities  which  he  confidentially  tells  about,  but  an  un 
expected  financial  storm  may  make  all  prophecies  worth 
less,  except  for  those  who  have  capital  to  tide  it  over. 

One  of  the  most  certain  opportunities  for  fortune  was 
to  buy  Erie  after  Commodore  Vanderbilt  had  secured 
every  share  and  the  shorts  were  selling  wildly  what  they 
did  not  have  and  could  not  get.  An  issue  of  fraudulent 
and  unauthorized  stock  suddenly  flooded  the  market 
and  thousands  were  ruined. 

As  Mr.  Sage's  wealth  increased,  the  generous  and 
public-spirited  impulses  which  were  his  underlying  char 
acteristics,  became  entirely  obscured  by  the  craze  for 
accumulation.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached,  was,  fortunately  for  him,  one  of  the  most  gen 
erous,  philanthropic,  and  open-minded  of  women.  She 
was  most  loyal  to  the  Emma  Willard  School  at  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  from  which  she  graduated.  Mrs.  Sage  wrote 
me  a  note  at  one  time,  saying:  "Mr.  Sage  has  promised 
to  build  and  give  to  the  Willard  School  a  building  which 
will  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  he 
wants  you  to  deliver  the  address  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone."  I  wrote  back  that  I  was  so  overwhelmed 
with  business  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  accept. 
She  replied:  "Russell  vows  he  will  not  give  a  dollar  un 
less  you  promise  to  deliver  the  address.  This  is  the  first 


350  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

effort  in  his  life  at  liberal  giving.  Don't  you  think  he 
ought  to  be  encouraged?"  I  immediately  accepted. 

Mrs.  Sage  was  a  Mayflower  descendant.  At  one  of 
the  anniversaries  of  the  society  she  invited  me  to  be  her 
guest  and  to  make  a  speech.  She  had  quite  a  large  com 
pany  at  her  table.  When  the  champagne  corks  began 
to  explode  all  around  us,  she  asked  what  I  thought  she 
ought  to  do.  I  answered:  "As  the  rest  are  doing." 
Mr.  Sage  vigorously  protested  that  it  was  a  useless  and 
wasteful  expense.  However,  Mrs.  Sage  gave  the  order, 
and  Mr.  Sage  and  two  objecting  gentlemen  at  the  table 
were  the  most  liberal  participants  of  her  hospitality. 
The  inspiration  of  the  phizz  brought  Sage  to  his  feet, 
though  not  on  the  programme.  He  talked  until  the 
committee  of  arrangements  succeeded  in  persuading  him 
that  the  company  was  entirely  satisfied. 

Jay  Gould  told  me  a  story  of  Sage.  The  market  had 
gone  against  him  and  left  him  under  great  obligations. 
The  shock  sent  Sage  to  bed,  and  he  declared  that  he  was 
ruined.  Mr.  Gould  and  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field  became 
alarmed  for  his  life  and  went  to  see  him.  They  found 
him  broken-hearted  and  in  a  serious  condition.  Gould 
said  to  him:  "Sage,  I  will  assume  all  your  obligations 
and  give  you  so  many  millions  of  dollars  if  you  will 
transfer  to  me  the  cash  you  have  in  banks,  trust,  and 
safe-deposit  companies,  and  you  keep  all  your  securities 
and  all  your  real  estate."  The  proposition  proved  to  be 
the  shock  necessary  to  counteract  Sage's  panic  and  save 
his  life.  He  shouted,  "I  won't  do  it!"  jumped  out  of 
bed,  met  all  his  obligations,  and  turned  defeat  into  a 
victory. 

Sage  could  not  personally  give  away  his  fortune,  so  he 
left  it  all,  without  reservations,  to  his  wife.  The  world 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS         351 

is  better  and  happier  by  her  wise  distribution  of  his 
accumulations. 

One  of  Mr.  Sage's  lawyers  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
mine,  and  he  told  me  this  story.  Sage  had  been  per 
suaded  by  his  fellow  directors  in  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company  to  make  a  will.  As  he  was  attor 
ney  for  the  company,  Sage  came  to  him  to  draw  it. 

The  lawyer  began  to  write:  "I,  Russell  Sage,  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  being  of  sound  mind"  .  .  .  (Sage 
interrupted  him  in  his  quick  way  by  saying,  "Nobody  will 
dispute  that")  "do  publish  and  devise  this  to  be  my 
last  will  and  testament  as  follows :  First,  I  direct  that  all 
my  just  debts  will  be  paid."  .  .  .  ("That's  easy,"  said 
Sage,  "because  I  haven't  any.")  "Also  my  funeral  ex 
penses  and  testamentary  expenses."  ("Make  the  funeral 
simple.  I  dislike  display  and  ostentation,  and  especially 
at  funerals,"  said  Sage.)  "Next,"  said  the  lawyer,  "I 
give,  devise,  and  bequeath"  .  .  .  (Sage  shouted:  "I 
won't  do  it !  I  won't  do  it !"  and  left  the  office.) 

Nothing  is  so  absorbing  as  the  life  of  Wall  Street.  It 
is  more  abused,  misunderstood,  and  envied  than  any 
place  in  the  country.  Wall  Street  means  that  the  sharp 
est  wits  from  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  many  from 
South  America  and  Europe,  are  competing  with  each 
other  for  the  great  prizes  of  development,  exploitation, 
and  speculation. 

I  remember  a  Wall  Street  man  who  was  of  wide  read 
ing  and  high  culture,  and  yet  devoted  to  both  the  opera 
tion  and  romance  of  the  Street.  He  rushed  into  my 
room  one  night  at  Lucerne  in  Switzerland  and  said:  "I 
have  just  arrived  from  Greece  and  have  been  out  of 
touch  with  everything  for  six  weeks.  I  am  starving  for 
news  of  the  market." 


352  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

I  enlightened  him  as  well  as  I  could,  and  then  he 
remarked:  "Do  you  know,  while  in  Athens  our  little 
party  stood  on  the  Acropolis  admiring  the  Parthenon, 
and  one  enthusiastic  Grecian  exclaimed:  'There  is  the 
wonder  of  the  world.  For  three  thousand  years  its  per 
fection  has  baffled  and  taught  the  genius  of  every  gen 
eration.  It  can  be  copied,  but  never  yet  has  been 
equalled.  Surely,  notwithstanding  your  love  of  New 
York  and  devotion  to  the  ticker,  you  must  admire  the 
Parthenon.'  I  answered  him,  if  I  could  be  transported 
at  this  minute  to  Fifth  Avenue  and  Broadway  and  could 
look  up  at  the  Flatiron  Building,  I  would  give  the  money 
to  rebuild  that  old  ruin." 

While  conditions  in  the  United  States  because  of  the 
World  War  are  serious,  they  are  so  much  better  than  in 
the  years  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  that  we 
who  have  had  the  double  experience  can  be  greatly  en 
couraged.  Then  one-half  of  our  country  was  devastated, 
its  industries  destroyed  or  paralyzed;  now  we  are  united 
and  stronger  in  every  way.  Then  we  had  a  paper  cur 
rency  and  dangerous  inflation,  now  we  are  on  a  gold 
standard  and  with  an  excellent  banking  and  credit  sys 
tem.  The  development  of  our  resources  and  wonderful 
inventions  and  discoveries  since  the  Civil  War  place  us 
in  the  foremost  position  to  enter  upon  world  commerce 
when  all  other  nations  have  come  as  they  must  to  co 
operation  and  co-ordination  upon  lines  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  peace  and  the  promotion  of  international  pros 
perity. 

Many  incidents  personal  to  me  occur  which  illustrate 
conditions  following  the  close  of  the  war  between  the 
States.  I  knew  very  rich  men  who  became  paupers, 
and  strong  institutions  and  corporations  which  went  into 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS         353 

bankruptcy.  I  was  in  the  Union  Trust  Company  of  New 
York  when  our  financial  circles  were  stunned  by  the 
closing  of  its  doors  following  the  closing  of  the  New 
York  Stock  Exchange. 

One  of  my  clients  was  Mr.  Augustus  Schell,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  successful  of  financiers  and  public-spirited 
citizens.  The  panic  had  ruined  him.  As  we  left  the 
Union  Trust  Company  he  had  his  hat  over  his  eyes,  and 
his  head  was  buried  in  the  upturned  collar  of  his  coat. 
When  opposite  Trinity  Church  he  said:  "Mr.  Depew, 
after  being  a  rich  man  for  over  forty  years,  it  is  hard  to 
walk  under  a  poor  man's  hat."  When  we  reached  the 
Astor  House  a  complete  reaction  had  occurred.  His 
collar  was  turned  down,  his  head  came  out  confident 
and  aggressive,  his  hat  had  shifted  to  the  back  of  his  head 
and  on  a  rakish  angle.  The  hopeful  citizen  fairly  shouted: 
"Mr.  Depew,  the  world  has  always  gone  around,  it  al 
ways  will  go  around."  He  managed  with  the  aid  of 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  to  save  his  assets  from  sacrifice. 
In  a  few  years  they  recovered  normal  value,  and  Mr. 
Schell  with  his  fortune  intact  found  "the  world  had  gone 
around"  and  he  was  on  top  again. 

I  have  often  felt  the  inspiration  of  Mr.  SchelPs  confi 
dence  and  hope  and  have  frequently  lifted  others  out  of 
the  depths  of  despair  by  narrating  the  story  and  empha 
sizing  the  motto  "The  world  always  has  gone  around, 
the  world  always  will  go  around." 

Illustrating  the  wild  speculative  spirit  of  one  financial 
period,  and  the  eagerness  with  which  speculators  grasped 
at  what  they  thought  points,  the  following  is  one  of  my 
many  experiences. 

Running  down  Wall  Street  one  day  because  I  was  late 
for  an  important  meeting,  a  well-known  speculator 


354  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

stopped  me  and  shouted:  "What  about  Erie?"  I  threw 
him  off  impatiently,  saying,  "Damn  Erie!"  and  rushed 
on.  I  knew  nothing  about  Erie  speculatively  and  was 
irritated  at  being  still  further  delayed  for  my  meeting. 

Sometime  afterwards  I  received  a  note  from  him  in 
which  he  said:  "I  never  can  be  grateful  enough  for  the 
point  you  gave  me  on  Erie.  I  made  on  it  the  biggest 
kill  of  my  life." 

I  have  often  had  quoted  to  me  that  sentence  about 
"fortune  comes  to  one  but  once,  and  if  rejected  never 
returns."  When  I  declined  President  Harrison's  offer  of 
the  position  of  secretary  of  state  in  his  Cabinet,  I  had 
on  my  desk  a  large  number  of  telegrams  signed  by  distin 
guished  names  and  having  only  that  quotation.  There 
are  many  instances  in  the  lives  of  successful  men  where 
they  have  repeatedly  declined  Dame  Fortune's  gift,  and 
yet  she  has  finally  rewarded  them  according  to  their  de 
sires.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  fickle  lady  is  not 
always  mortally  offended  by  a  refusal.  I  believe  that 
there  come  in  the  life  of  almost  everybody  several  op 
portunities,  and  few  have  the  judgment  to  wisely  decide 
what  to  decline  and  what  to  accept. 

In  1876  Gardner  Hubbard  was  an  officer  in  the  United 
States  railway  mail  service.  As  this  connection  with 
the  government  was  one  of  my  duties  in  the  New  York 
Central,  we  met  frequently.  One  day  he  said  to  me: 
"My  son-in-law,  Professor  Bell,  has  made  what  I  think  a 
wonderful  invention.  It  is  a  talking  telegraph.  We 
need  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  I  will  give  you  one-sixth 
interest  for  that  amount  of  money." 

I  was  very  much  impressed  with  Mr.  Hubbard's  de 
scription  of  the  possibilities  of  Professor  Bell's  invention. 
Before  accepting,  however,  I  called  upon  my  friend,  Mr. 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS         355 

William  Orton,  president  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company.  Orton  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  best- 
informed  and  most  accomplished  electrical  expert  in  the 
country.  He  said  to  me:  "There  is  nothing  in  this 
patent  whatever,  nor  is  there  anything  in  the  scheme 
itself,  except  as  a  toy.  If  the  device  has  any  value,  the 
Western  Union  owns  a  prior  patent  called  the  Gray's 
patent,  which  makes  the  Bell  device  worthless." 

When  I  returned  to  Mr.  Hubbard  he  again  convinced 
me,  and  I  would  have  made  the  investment,  except  that 
Mr.  Orton  called  at  my  house  that  night  and  said  to  me: 
"I  know  you  cannot  afford  to  lose  ten  thousand  dollars, 
which  you  certainly  will  if  you  put  it  in  the  Bell  patent. 
I  have  been  so  worried  about  it  that  contrary  to  my 
usual  custom  I  have  come,  if  possible,  to  make  you 
promise  to  drop  it."  This  I  did. 

The  Bell  patent  was  sustained  in  the  courts  against 
the  Gray,  and  the  telephone  system  became  immediately 
popular  and  profitable.  It  spread  rapidly  all  over  the 
country,  and  innumerable  local  companies  were  organ 
ized,  and  with  large  interests  for  the  privilege  to  the 
parent  company. 

I  rarely  ever  part  with  anything,  and  I  may  say  that 
principle  has  brought  me  so  many  losses  and  so  many 
gains  that  I  am  as  yet,  in  my  eighty-eighth  year,  un 
decided  whether  it  is  a  good  rule  or  not.  However,  if  I 
had  accepted  my  friend  Mr.  Hubbard's  offer,  it  would 
have  changed  my  whole  course  of  life.  With  the  divi 
dends,  year  after  year,  and  the  increasing  capital,  I  would 
have  netted  by  to-day  at  least  one  hundred  million  dol 
lars.  I  have  no  regrets.  I  know  my  make-up,  with  its 
love  for  the  social  side  of  life  and  its  good  things,  and  for 
good  times  with  good  fellows.  I  also  know  the  necessity 


356  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

of  activity  and  work.  I  am  quite  sure  that  with  this 
necessity  removed  and  ambition  smothered,  I  should 
long  ago  have  been  in  my  grave  and  lost  many  years  of  a 
life  which  has  been  full  of  happiness  and  satisfaction. 

My  great  weakness  has  been  indorsing  notes.  A 
friend  comes  and  appeals  to  you.  If  you  are  of  a  sym 
pathetic  nature  and  very  fond  of  him,  if  you  have  no 
money  to  loan  him,  it  is  so  easy  to  put  your  name  on 
the  back  of  a  note.  Of  course,  it  is  rarely  paid  at  ma 
turity,  because  your  friend's  judgment  was  wrong,  and 
so  the  note  is  renewed  and  the  amount  increased.  When 
finally  you  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  if  you  do  not  stop 
you  are  certain  to  be  ruined,  your  friend  fails  when  the 
notes  mature,  and  you  have  lost  the  results  of  many 
years  of  thrift  and  saving,  and  also  your  friend. 

I  declined  to  marry  until  I  had  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
The  happy  day  arrived,  and  I  felt  the  fortunes  of  my 
family  secure.  My  father-in-law  and  his  son  became 
embarrassed  in  their  business,  and,  naturally,  I  indorsed 
their  notes.  A  few  years  afterwards  my  father-in-law 
died,  his  business  went  bankrupt,  I  lost  my  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars  and  found  myself  considerably  in  debt.  As 
an  illustration  of  my  dear  mother's  belief  that  all  mis 
fortunes  are  sent  for  one's  good,  it  so  happened  that  the 
necessity  of  meeting  and  recovering  from  this  disaster 
led  to  extraordinary  exertions,  which  probably,  except 
under  the  necessity,  I  never  would  have  made.  The 
efforts  were  successful. 

Horace  Greeley  never  could  resist  an  appeal  to  indorse 
a  note.  They  were  hardly  ever  paid,  and  Mr.  Greeley 
was  the  loser.  I  met  him  one  time,  soon  after  he  had 
been  a  very  severe  sufferer  from  his  mistaken  kindness. 
He  said  to  me  with  great  emphasis:  "Chauncey,  I  want 


JOURNALISTS  AND   FINANCIERS        357 

you  to  do  me  a  great  favor.  I  want  you  to  have  a  bill 
put  through  the  legislature,  and  see  that  it  becomes  a 
law,  making  it  a  felony  and  punishable  with  imprison 
ment  for  life  for  any  man  to  put  his  name  by  way  of 
indorsement  on  the  back  of  another  man's  paper." 

Dear  old  Greeley  kept  the  practice  up  until  he  died, 
and  the  law  was  never  passed.  There  was  one  instance, 
which  I  had  something  to  do  with,  where  the  father  of 
a  young  man,  through  whom  Mr.  Greeley  lost  a  great 
deal  of  money  by  indorsing  notes,  arranged  after  Mr. 
Greeley's  death  to  have  the  full  amount  of  the  loss  paid 
to  Mr.  Greeley's  heirs. 


XXIII 
ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS 

One  cannot  speak  of  Sir  Henry  Irving  without  recall 
ing  the  wonderful  charm  and  genius  of  his  leading  lady, 
Ellen  Terry.  She  never  failed  to  be  worthy  of  sharing 
in  Irving's  triumphs.  Her  remarkable  adaptability  to 
the  different  characters  and  grasp  of  their  characteristics 
made  her  one  of  the  best  exemplifiers  of  Shakespeare  of 
her  time.  She  was  equally  good  in  the  great  characters 
of  other  playwrights.  Her  effectiveness  was  increased 
by  an  unusual  ability  to  shed  tears  and  natural  tears.  I 
was  invited  behind  the  scenes  one  evening  when  she  had 
produced  a  great  impression  upon  the  audience  in  a  very 
pathetic  part.  I  asked  her  how  she  did  what  no  one 
else  was  ever  able  to  do. 

"Why,"  she  answered,  "it  is  so  simple  when  you  are 

portraying "  (mentioning  the  character),  "and  such 

a  crisis  arises  in  your  life,  that  naturally  and  immediately 
the  tears  begin  to  flow."  So  they  did  when  she  was  il 
lustrating  the  part  for  me. 

It  was  a  privilege  to  hear  Edwin  Booth  as  Richelieu 
and  Hamlet.  I  have  witnessed  all  the  great  actors  of  my 
time  in  those  characters.  None  of  them  equalled  Edwin 
Booth.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  exiled  from  the 
stage  because  his  brother,  Wilkes  Booth,  was  the  assas 
sin  of  President  Lincoln.  His  admirers  in  New  York  felt 
that  it  was  a  misfortune  for  dramatic  art  that  so  con 
summate  an  artist  should  be  compelled  to  remain  in  pri 
vate  life.  In  order  to  break  the  spell  they  united  and  in- 

358 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        359 

vited  Mr.  Booth  to  give  a  performance  at  one  of  the 
larger  theatres.  The  house,  of  course,  was  carefully 
ticketed  with  selected  guests. 

The  older  Mrs.  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  most  accomplished 
and  cultured  lady  and  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders 
of  New  York  society,  gave  Mr.  Booth  a  dinner  in  honor 
of  the  event.  The  gathering  represented  the  most  emi 
nent  talent  of  New  York  in  every  department  of  the 
great  city's  activities.  Of  course,  Mr.  Booth  had  the 
seat  of  honor  at  the  right  of  the  hostess.  On  the  left 
was  a  distinguished  man  who  had  been  a  Cabinet  min 
ister  and  a  diplomat.  During  the  dinner  Mr.  Evarts 
said  to  me:  "I  have  known  so  and  so  all  our  active  lives. 
He  has  been  a  great  success  in  everything  he  has  under 
taken,  and  the  wonder  of  it  is  that  if  there  was  ever  an 
opportunity  for  him  to  say  or  do  the  wrong  thing  he 
never  failed." 

Curiously  enough,  the  conversation  at  the  dinner  ran 
upon  men  outliving  their  usefulness  and  reputations. 
Several  instances  were  cited  where  a  man  from  the  height 
of  his  fame  gradually  lived  on  and  lived  out  his  reputa 
tion.  Whereupon  our  diplomat,  with  his  fatal  facility 
for  saying  the  wrong  thing,  broke  in  by  remarking  in  a 
strident  voice :  "  The  most  remarkable  instance  of  a  man 
dying  at  the  right  time  for  his  reputation  was  Abraham 
Lincoln."  Then  he  went  on  to  explain  how  he  would 
have  probably  lost  his  place  in  history  through  the  mis 
takes  of  his  second  term.  Nobody  heard  anything  be 
yond  the  words  "Abraham  Lincoln."  Fortunately  for 
the  evening  and  the  great  embarrassment  of  Mr.  Booth, 
the  tact  of  Mrs.  Astor  changed  the  subject  and  saved 
the  occasion. 

Of  all  my  actor  friends  none  was  more  delightful  either 


360  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

on  the  stage  or  in  private  life  than  Joseph  Jefferson.  He 
early  appealed  to  me  because  of  his  Rip  Van  Winkle.  I 
was  always  devoted  to  Washington  Irving  and  to  the 
Hudson  River.  AH  the  traditions  which  have  given  a 
romantic  touch  to  different  points  on  that  river  came 
from  Ifving's  pen.  In  the  days  of  my  youth  the  influ 
ence  of  Irving  upon  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
have  been  born  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  was  very 
great  in  every  way. 

As  I  met  Jefferson  quite  frequently,  I  recall  two  of  his 
many  charming  stories.  He  said  he  thought  at  one  time 
that  it  would  be  a  fine  idea  to  play  Rip  Van  Winkle  at 
the  village  of  Catskill,  around  which  place  was  located 
the  story  of  his  hero.  His  manager  selected  the  super 
numeraries  from  among  the  farmer  boys  of  the  neighbor 
hood.  At  the  point  of  the  play  where  Rip  wakes  up  and 
finds  the  lively  ghosts  of  the  Hendrick  Hudson  crew  play 
ing  bowls  in  the  mountains,  he  says  to  each  one  of  them, 
who  all  look  and  are  dressed  alike:  "Are  you  his  brother?" 

"No,"  answered  the  young  farmer  who  impersonated 
one  of  the  ghosts,  "Mr.  Jefferson,  I  never  saw  one  of 
these  people  before."  As  ghosts  are  supposed  to  be 
silent,  this  interruption  nearly  broke  up  the  performance. 

During  the  Spanish-American  War  I  came  on  the  same 
train  with  Mr.  Jefferson  from  Washington.  The  interest 
all  over  the  country  at  that  time  was  the  remarkable  vic 
tory  of  Admiral  Dewey  over  the  Spanish  fleet  in  the  har 
bor  of  Manila.  People  wondered  how  Dewey  could  sink 
every  Spanish  ship  and  never  be  hit  once  himself.  Jef 
ferson  said  in  his  quaint  way:  "Everybody,  including 
the  secretary  of  the  navy  and  several  admirals,  asked  me 
how  that  could  have  happened.  I  told  them  the  prob 
lem  might  be  one  which  naval  officers  could  not  solve, 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        361 

but  it  was  very  simple  for  an  actor.  The  failure  of  the 
Spanish  admiral  was  entirely  due  to  his  not  having 
rehearsed.  Success  is  impossible  without  frequent  re 
hearsals." 

Returning  for  a  moment  to  Washington  Irving,  one  of 
the  most  interesting  spots  near  New  York  is  his  old 
home,  Wolfert's  Roost,  and  also  the  old  church  at  Tarry- 
town  where  he  worshipped,  and  of  which  he  was  an 
officer  for  many  years.  The  ivy  which  partially  covers 
the  church  was  given  to  Mr.  Irving  by  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
from  Abbotsford.  At  the  time  when  the  most  famous 
of  British  reviewers  wrote,  "Whoever  read  or  reads  an 
American  book?"  Sir  Walter  Scott  announced  the  merit 
and  coming  fame  of  Washington  Irving.  But,  as  Rip 
Van  Winkle  says,  when  he  returns  after  twenty  years  to 
his  native  village,  "how  soon  we  are  forgot." 

There  was  a  dinner  given  in  New  York  to  celebrate 
the  hundredth  anniversary  of  Washington  Irving's  birth. 
I  was  one  of  the  speakers.  In  an  adjoining  room  was  a 
company  of  young  and  very  successful  brokers,  whose 
triumphs  in  the  market  were  the  envy  of  speculative 
America.  While  I  was  speaking  they  came  into  the 
room.  When  I  had  finished,  the  host  at  the  brokers' 
dinner  called  me  out  and  said:  "We  were  much  inter 
ested  in  your  speech.  This  Irving  you  talked  about 
must  be  a  remarkable  man.  What  is  the  dinner  about?" 

I  answered  him  that  it  was  in  celebration  of  the  hun 
dredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington  Irving. 

"Well,"  he  said,  pointing  to  an  old  gentleman  who 
had  sat  beside  me  on  the  speakers'  platform,  "it  is  aston 
ishing  how  vigorous  he  looks  at  that  advanced  age." 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  hear  often  and  know  per 
sonally  Richard  Mansfield.  He  was  very  successful  in 


362  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

many  parts,  but  his  presentation  of  Doctor  Jekyll  and 
Mr.  Hyde  was  wonderful.  At  one  time  he  came  to  me 
with  a  well-thought-out  scheme  for  a  national  theatre  in 
New  York,  which  would  be  amply  endowed  and  be  the 
home  of  the  highest  art  in  the  dramatic  profession,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  finest  school  in  the  world.  He 
wanted  me  to  draw  together  a  committee  of  the  leading 
financiers  of  the  country  and,  if  possible,  to  impress  them 
so  that  they  would  subscribe  the  millions  necessary  for 
carrying  out  his  ideas.  I  was  too  busy  a  man  to  under 
take  so  difficult  a  project. 

One  of  the  colored  porters  in  the  Wagner  Palace  Car 
service,  who  was  always  with  me  on  my  tours  of  inspec 
tion  over  the  railroad,  told  me  an  amusing  story  of  Mr. 
Mansfield's  devotion  to  his  art.  He  was  acting  as  porter 
on  Mansfield's  car,  when  he  was  making  a  tour  of  the 
country.  This  porter  was  an  exceedingly  intelligent 
man.  He  appreciated  Mansfield's  achievements  and 
played  up  to  his  humor  in  using  him  as  a  foil  while 
always  acting.  When  they  were  in  a  station  William 
never  left  the  car,  but  remained  on  guard  for  the  protec 
tion  of  its  valuable  contents. 

After  a  play  at  Kansas  City  Mansfield  came  into  the 
car  very  late  and  said:  "William,  where  is  my  man- 
ager?" ' 

"Gone  to  bed,  sir,  and  so  have  the  other  members  of 
the  company,"  answered  William. 

Then  in  his  most  impressive  way  Mansfield  said: 
"William,  they  fear  me.  By  the  way,  were  you  down 
at  the  depot  to-night  when  the  audience  from  the  sub 
urbs  were  returning  to  take  their  trains  home?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  William,  though  he  had  not  been 
out  of  the  car. 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        363 

"Did  you  hear  any  remarks  made  about  my  play?" 

"Yes,  sir/5 

"Can  you  give  me  an  instance ?" 

"Certainly,"  replied  William;  "one  gentleman  re 
marked  that  he  had  been  to  the  theatre  all  his  life,  but 
that  your  acting  to-night  was  the  most  rotten  thing  he 
had  ever  heard  or  seen." 

"William,"  shouted  Mansfield,  "get  my  Winchester 
and  find  that  man." 

So  Mansfield  and  William  went  out  among  the  crowds, 
and  when  William  saw  a  big,  aggressive-looking  fellow 
who  he  thought  would  stand  up  and  fight,  he  said: 
"There  he  is." 

Mansfield  immediately  walked  up  to  the  man,  covered 
him  with  his  rifle,  and  shouted:  "Hold  up  your  hands, 
you  wretch,  and  take  back  immediately  the  insulting 
remark  you  made  about  my  play  and  acting  and  apolo 
gize." 

The  man  said:  "Why,  Mr.  Mansfield,  somebody  has 
been  lying  to  you  about  me.  Your  performance  to-night 
was  the  best  thing  I  ever  saw  in  my  life." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mansfield,  shouldering  his  rifle, 
and  added  in  the  most  tragic  tone:  "William,  lead  the 
way  back  to  the  car." 

Among  the  most  interesting  memories  of  old  New 
Yorkers  are  the  suppers  which  Mr.  Augustin  Daly  gave 
on  the  one  hundredth  performance  of  a  play.  Like 
everything  which  Daly  did,  the  entertainment  was  per 
fect.  A  frequent  and  honored  guest  on  these  occasions 
was  General  Sherman,  who  was  then  retired  from  the 
army  and  living  in  New  York.  Sherman  was  a  military 
genius  but  a  great  deal  more.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
sensitive  men  in  the  world.  Of  course,  the  attraction  at 


364  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

these  suppers  was  Miss  Rehan,  Daly's  leading  lady.  Her 
personal  charm,  her  velvet  voice,  and  her  inimitable  co 
quetry  made  every  guest  anxious  to  be  her  escort.  She 
would  pretend  to  be  in  doubt  whether  to  accept  the 
attentions  of  General  Sherman  or  myself,  but  when  the 
general  began  to  display  considerable  irritation,  the  brow 
of  Mars  was  smoothed  and  the  warrior  made  happy  by 
a  gracious  acceptance  of  his  arm. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  I  heard  the  best  after-dinner 
speech  of  my  life.  The  speaker  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  women  in  the  country,  Miss  Fanny  Daven 
port.  That  night  she  seemed  to  be  inspired,  and  her 
eloquence,  her  wit,  her  humor,  her  sparkling  genius,  to 
gether  with  the  impression  of  her  amazing  beauty  were 
very  effective. 

P.  T.  Barnum,  the  showman,  was  a  many-sided  and 
interesting  character.  I  saw  much  of  him  as  he  rented 
from  the  Harlem  Railroad  Company  the  Madison  Square 
Garden,  year  after  year.  Barnum  never  has  had  an 
equal  in  his  profession  and  was  an  excellent  business 
man.  In  a  broad  way  he  was  a  man  of  affairs,  and  with 
his  vast  fund  of  anecdotes  and  reminiscences  very  enter 
taining  socially. 

An  Englishman  of  note  came  to  me  with  a  letter  of 
introduction,  and  I  asked  him  whom  he  would  like  to 
meet.  He  said:  "I  think  principally  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum." 
I  told  this  to  Barnum,  who  knew  all  about  him,  and 
said:  "As  a  gentleman,  he  knows  how  to  meet  me." 
When  I  informed  my  English  friend,  he  expressed  his 
regret  and  at  once  sent  Barnum  his  card  and  an  invita 
tion  for  dinner.  At  the  dinner  Barnum  easily  carried 
off  the  honors  with  his  wonderful  fund  of  unusual  ad 
ventures. 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        365 

My  first  contact  with  Mr.  Barnum  occurred  many 
years  before,  when  I  was  a  boy  up  in  Peekskill.  At  that 
time  he  had  a  museum  and  a  show  in  a  building  at  the 
corner  of  Ann  Street  and  Broadway,  opposite  the  old 
Astor  House.  By  skilful  advertising  he  kept  people  all 
over  the  country  expecting  something  new  and  wonder 
ful  and  anxious  to  visit  his  show. 

There  had  been  an  Indian  massacre  on  the  Western 
plains.  The  particulars  filled  the  newspapers  and  led  to 
action  by  the  government  in  retaliation.  Barnum  ad 
vertised  that  he  had  succeeded  in  securing  the  Sioux 
warriors  whom  the  government  had  captured,  and  who 
would  re-enact  every  day  the  bloody  battle  in  which 
they  were  victorious. 

It  was  one  of  the  hottest  afternoons  in  August  when  I 
appeared  there  from  the  country.  The  Indians  were  on 
the  top  floor,  under  the  roof.  The  performance  was 
sufficiently  blood-curdling  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting 
reader  of  a  penny-dreadful.  After  the  performance, 
when  the  audience  left,  I  was  too  fascinated  to  go,  and 
remained  in  the  rear  of  the  hall,  gazing  at  these  dreadful 
savages.  One  of  them  took  off  his  head-gear,  dropped 
his  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  and  said  in  the  broad 
est  Irish  to  his  neighbor:  "Moike,  if  this  weather  don't 
cool  off,  I  will  be  nothing  but  a  grease  spot."  This  was 
among  the  many  illusions  which  have  been  dissipated 
for  me  in  a  long  life.  Notwithstanding  that,  I  still  have 
faith,  and  dearly  love  to  be  fooled,  but  not  to  have  the 
fraud  exposed. 

Wyndham,  the  celebrated  English  actor,  was  playing 
one  night  in  New  York.  He  saw  me  in  the  audience 
and  sent  a  messenger  inviting  me  to  meet  him  at  supper 


366  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

at  the  Hoffman  House.  After  the  theatre  I  went  to 
the  hotel,  asked  at  the  desk  in  what  room  the  theatrical 
supper  was,  and  found  there  Bronson  Howard,  the  play 
wright,  and  some  others.  I  told  them  the  object  of  my 
search,  and  Mr.  Howard  said:  "You  are  just  in  the  right 
place." 

The  English  actor  came  later,  and  also  a  large  number 
of  other  guests.  I  was  very  much  surprised  and  flattered 
at  being  made  practically  the  guest  of  honor.  In  the 
usual  and  inevitable  after-dinner  speeches  I  joined  enthu 
siastically  in  the  prospects  of  American  contributions  to 
drama  and  especially  the  genius  of  Bronson  Howard. 

It  developed  afterwards  that  the  actors'  dinner  was 
set  for  several  nights  later,  and  that  I  was  not  invited 
or  expected  to  this  entertainment,  which  was  given  by 
Mr.  Howard  to  my  actor  friend,  but  by  concert  of  action 
between  the  playwright  and  the  actor,  the  whole  affair 
was  turned  into  a  dinner  to  me.  Broadway  was  de 
lighted  at  the  joke,  but  did  not  have  a  better  time  over 
it  than  I  did. 

The  supper  parties  after  the  play  which  Wyndham 
gave  were  among  the  most  enjoyable  entertainments  in 
London.  His  guests  represented  the  best  in  society, 
government,  art,  literature,  and  drama.  His  dining- 
room  was  built  and  furnished  like  the  cabin  of  a  yacht 
and  the  illusion  was  so  complete  that  sensitive  guests 
said  they  felt  the  rolling  of  the  sea. 

One  evening  he  said  to  me:  "I  expect  a  countryman  of 
yours,  a  charming  fellow,  but,  poor  devil,  he  has  only 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  a  year.  He  is 
still  young,  and  all  the  managing  mothers  are  after  him 
for  their  daughters." 

When  the  prosperous  American  with  an  income  of 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS   367 

three-quarters  of  a  million  arrived,  I  needed  no  introduc 
tion.  I  knew  him  very  well  and  about  his  affairs.  He 
had  culture,  was  widely  travelled,  was  both  musical  and 
artistic,  and  his  fad  was  intimacy  with  prominent  peo 
ple.  His  dinners  were  perfection  and  invitations  were 
eagerly  sought.  On  the  plea  of  delicate  health  he  remained 
a  brief  period  in  the  height  of  the  season  in  London  and 
Paris.  But  during  those  few  weeks  he  gave  all  that  could 
be  done  by  lavish  wealth  and  perfect  taste,  and  did  it  on 
an  income  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

Most  of  tile  year  he  lived  modestly  in  the  mountains 
of  Switzerland  or  in  Eastern  travel,  but  was  a  welcome 
guest  of  the  most  important  people  in  many  lands.  The 
only  deceit  about  it,  if  it  was  a  deceit,  was  that  he  never 
went  out  of  his  way  to  deny  his  vast  wealth,  and  as  he 
never  asked  for  anything  there  was  no  occasion  to  pub 
lish  his  inventory.  The  pursuing  mothers  and  daughters 
never  succeeded,  before  his  flight,  in  leading  him  far 
enough  to  ask  for  a  show-down. 

Many  times  during  my  visits  to  Europe  I  have  been 
besieged  to  know  the  income  of  a  countryman.  On  ac 
count  of  the  belief  over  there  in  the  generality  of  enor 
mous  American  fortunes,  it  is  not  difficult  to  create  the 
impression  of  immense  wealth.  While  the  man  would 
have  to  make  a  statement  and  give  references,  the  lady's 
story  is  seldom  questioned.  I  have  known  some  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  dollars  become  in  the  credulous  eyes 
of  suitors  as  many  millions,  and  a  few  millions  become 
multimillions.  In  several  instances  the  statements  of  the 
lady  were  accepted  as  she  achieved  her  ambition. 

For  a  tired  man  who  has  grown  stale  with  years  of 
unremitting  work  I  know  of  no  relief  and  recuperation 


368  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

equal  to  taking  a  steamer  and  crossing  the  ocean  to 
Europe.  I  did  this  for  a  few  weeks  in  midsummer  many 
times  and  always  with  splendid  and  most  refreshing 
results.  With  fortunate  introductions,  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  many  of  the  leading  men  of  other  coun 
tries,  and  this  was  a  liberal  education. 

There  is  invariably  a  concert  for  charities  to  help  the 
sailors  on  every  ship.  I  had  many  amusing  experiences 
in  presiding  on  these  occasions.  I  remember  once  we 
were  having  a  rough  night  of  it,  and  one  of  our  artists,  a 
famous  singer,  who  had  made  a  successful  tour  of  the 
United  States,  was  a  little  woman  and  her  husband  a 
giant.  He  came  to  me  during  the  performance  and  said : 
"My  wife  is  awfully  seasick,  but  she  wants  to  sing,  and 
I  want  her  to.  In  the  intervals  of  her  illness  she  is  in 
pretty  good  shape  for  a  little  while.  If  you  will  stop 
everything  when  you  see  me  coming  in  with  her,  she  will 
do  her  part." 

I  saw  him  rushing  into  the  saloon  with  his  wife  in  his 
arms,  and  immediately  announced  her  for  the  next  num 
ber.  She  made  a  great  triumph,  but  at  the  proper  mo 
ment  was  caught  up  by  her  husband  and  carried  again 
to  the  deck.  He  said  to  me  afterwards:  "My  wife  was 
not  at  her  best  last  night,  because  there  is  a  peculiarity 
about  seasickness  and  singers;  the  lower  notes  in  which 
she  is  most  effective  are  not  at  such  times  available  or 
in  working  order." 

Augustin  Daly  did  a  great  service  to  the  theatre  by 
his  wonderful  genius  as  a  manager.  He  discovered  tal 
ent  everywhere  and  encouraged  it.  He  trained  his  com 
pany  with  the  skill  of  a  master,  and  produced  in  his  thea 
tres  here  and  in  London  a  series  of  wonderful  plays.  He 
did  not  permit  his  artists  to  take  part,  as  a  rule,  in  these 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS   369 

concerts  on  the  ship,  but  it  so  happened  that  on  one 
occasion  we  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July.  I  went  to 
Mr.  Daly  and  asked  him  if  he  would  not  as  an  American 
take  the  management  of  the  whole  celebration.  This 
appealed  to  him,  and  he  selected  the  best  talent  from  his 
company.  Among  them  was  Ada  Rehan.  I  knew  Miss 
Rehan  when  she  was  in  the  stock  company  at  Albany  in 
her  early  days.  With  Mr.  Daly,  who  discovered  her, 
she  soon  developed  into  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude. 

Mr.  Daly  persisted  on  my  presiding  and  introducing 
the  artists,  and  also  delivering  the  Fourth  of  July  ora 
tion.  The  celebration  was  so  successful  in  the  saloon 
that  Mr.  Paly  had  it  repeated  the  next  night  in  the  sec 
ond  cabin,  and  the  night  after  that  in  the  steerage.  The 
steerage  did  its  best,  and  was  clothed  in  the  finest  things 
which  it  was  carrying  back  to  astonish  the  old  folks  in 
the  old  country,  and  its  enthusiasm  was  greater,  if  pos 
sible,  than  the  welcome  which  had  greeted  the  artists 
among  the  first  and  second  cabin  passengers. 

After  Miss  Rehan  had  recited  her  part  and  been 
encored  and  encored,  I  found  her  in  tears.  I  said:  "Miss 
Rehan,  your  triumph  has  been  so  great  that  it  should  be 
laughter." 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "but  it  is  so  pathetic  to  see  these 
people  who  probably  never  before  met  with  the  highest  art." 

Among  the  many  eminent  English  men  of  letters  who 
at  one  time  came  to  the  United  States  was  Matthew 
Arnold.  The  American  lecture  promoters  were  active  in 
securing  these  gentlemen,  and  the  American  audiences 
were  most  appreciative.  Many  came  with  letters  of 
introduction  to  me. 

Mr.  Arnold  was  a  great  poet,  critic,  and  writer,  and 


370  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

an  eminent  professor  at  Oxford  University  and  well 
known  to  our  people.  His  first  address  was  at  Chicker- 
ing  Hall  to  a  crowded  house.  Beyond  the  first  few  rows 
no  one  could  hear  him.  Explaining  this  he  said  to  me: 
"My  trouble  is  that  my  lectures  at  the  university  are 
given  in  small  halls  and  to  limited  audiences."  I  advised 
him  that  before  going  any  farther  he  should  secure  an 
elocutionist  and  accustom  himself  to  large  halls,  other 
wise  his  tour  would  be  a  disappointment. 

He  gave  me  an  amusing  account  of  his  instructor 
selecting  Chickering  Hall,  where  he  had  failed,  and  mak 
ing  him  repeat  his  lecture,  while  the  instructor  kept  a 
progressive  movement  farther  and  farther  from  the  stage 
until  he  reached  the  rear  seats,  when  he  said  he  was 
satisfied.  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  versatility  of  this  great 
author  that  he  learned  his  lesson  so  well  that  his  subse 
quent  lectures  in  different  parts  of  the  country  were  very 
successful. 

Once  Mr.  Arnold  said  to  me:  "The  lectures  which  I 
have  prepared  are  for  university  audiences,  to  which  I 
am  accustomed.  I  have  asked  my  American  manager 
to  put  me  only  in  university  towns,  but  I  wish  you  would 
look  over  my  engagements." 

Having  done  this,  I  remarked:  "Managers  are  looking 
for  large  and  profitable  audiences.  There  is  no  univer 
sity  or  college  in  any  of  these  towns,  though  one  of  them 
has  an  inebriate  home  and  another  an  insane  asylum. 
However,  both  of  these  cities  have  a  cultured  population. 
Your  noisiest  and  probably  most  appreciative  audience 
will  be  at  the  one  which  is  a  large  railroad  terminal. 
Our  railroad  people  are  up-to-date." 

I  saw  Mr.  Arnold  on  his  return  from  his  tour.  The 
description  he  gave  of  his  adventures  was  very  pictur- 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        371 

esque  and  the  income  had  been  exceedingly  satisfactory 
and  beyond  expectation. 

Describing  the  peculiarities  of  the  chairmen  who  in 
troduced  him,  he  mentioned  one  of  them  who  said: 
"Ladies  and  gentlemen,  next  week  we  will  have  in  our 
course  the  most  famous  magician  there  is  in  the  world, 
and  the  week  after,  I  am  happy  to  say,  we  shall  be  hon 
ored  by  the  presence  of  a  great  opera-singer,  a  wonderful 
artist.  For  this  evening  it  is  my  pleasure  to  introduce 
to  you  that  distinguished  English  journalist,  Mr.  Edwin 
Arnold."  Mr.  Arnold  began  his  lecture  with  a  vigorous 
denial  that  he  was  Edwin  Arnold,  whom  I  judged  he  did 
not  consider  in  his  class. 

Mr.  Arnold  received  in  New  York  and  in  the  larger 
cities  which  he  visited  the  highest  social  attention  from 
the  leading  families.  I  met  him  several  times  and  found 
that  he  never  could  be  reconciled  to  our  two  most  famous 
dishes — terrapin  and  canvasback  duck — the  duck  nearly 
raw.  He  said  indignantly  to  one  hostess,  who  chided 
him  for  his  neglect  of  the  canvasback:  "Madam,  when 
your  ancestors  left  England  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  the  English  of  that  time  were  accustomed  to  eat 
their  meat  raw;  now  they  cook  it."  To  which  the  lady 
answered:  "I  am  not  familiar  with  the  customs  of  my 
ancestors,  but  I  know  that  I  pay  my  chef,  who  cooked 
the  duck,  three  hundred  dollars  a  month." 

We  were  all  very  fond  of  Thackeray.  He  did  not  have 
the  general  popularity  of  Charles  Dickens,  nor  did  he 
possess  Dickens's  dramatic  power,  but  he  had  a  large 
and  enthusiastic  following  among  our  people.  It  was  an 
intellectual  treat  and  revelation  to  listen  to  him.  That 
wonderful  head  of  his  seemed  to  be  an  enormous  and 
perennial  fountain  of  wit  and  wisdom. 


372  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

They  had  a  good  story  of  him  at  the  Century  Club, 
which  is  our  Athenaeum,  that  when  taken  there  after  a 
lecture  by  his  friends  they  gave  him  the  usual  Centurion 
supper  of  those  days:  saddlerock  oysters.  The  saddle- 
rock  of  that  time  was  nearly  as  large  as  a  dinner-plate. 
Thackeray  said  to  his  host:  "What  do  I  do  with  this 
animal?'* 

The  host  answered:  "We  Americans  swallow  them 
whole." 

Thackeray,  always  equal  to  the  demand  of  American 
hospitality,  closed  his  eyes  and  swallowed  the  oyster, 
and  the  oyster  went  down.  When  he  had  recovered  he 
remarked:  "I  feel  as  if  I  had  swallowed  a  live  baby." 

We  have  been  excited  at  different  times  to  an  absorb 
ing  extent  by  the  stories  of  explorers.  None  were  more 
generally  read  than  the  adventures  of  the  famous  mis 
sionary,  David  Livingstone,  in  Africa.  When  Livingstone 
was  lost  the  whole  world  saluted  Henry  M.  Stanley 
as  he  started  upon  his  famous  journey  to  find  him. 
Stanley's  adventures,  his  perils  and  escapes,  had  their 
final  success  in  finding  Livingstone.  The  story  enrap 
tured  and  thrilled  every  one.  The  British  Government 
knighted  him,  and  when  he  returned  to  the  United  States 
he  was  Sir  Henry  Stanley.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  woman,  and  received 
with  open  arms. 

I  met  Sir  Henry  many  times  at  private  and  public 
entertainments  and  found  him  always  most  interesting. 
The  Lotos  Club  gave  him  one  of  its  most  famous  din 
ners,  famous  to  those  invited  and  to  those  who  spoke. 

It  was  arranged  that  he  should  begin  his  lecture  tour 
of  the  United  States  in  New  York.  At  the  request  of 
Sir  Henry  and  his  committee  I  presided  and  introduced 


ACTORS  AND  MEN  OF  LETTERS        373 

him  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House.  The  great  audi 
torium  was  crowded  to  suffocation  and  the  audience  one 
of  the  finest  and  most  sympathetic. 

We  knew  little  at  that  time  of  Central  Africa  and  its 
people,  and  the  curiosity  was  intense  to  hear  from  Sir 
Henry  a  personal  and  intimate  account  of  his  wonderful 
discoveries  and  experiences.  He  thought  that  as  his 
African  life  was  so  familiar  to  him,  it  must  be  the  same 
to  everybody  else.  As  a  result,  instead  of  a  thriller  he 
gave  a  commonplace  talk  on  some  literary  subject  which 
bored  the  audience  and  cast  a  cloud  over  a  lecture  tour 
which  promised  to  be  one  of  the  most  successful.  Of 
course  Sir  Henry's  effort  disappointed  his  audience  the 
more  because  their  indifference  and  indignation  depressed 
him,  and  he  did  not  do  justice  to  himself  or  the  uninter 
esting  subject  which  he  had  selected.  He  never  again 
made  the  same  mistake,  and  the  tour  was  highly  re 
munerative. 

For  nearly  a  generation  there  was  no  subject  which  so 
interested  the  American  people  as  the  adventures  of  ex 
plorers.  I  met  many  of  them,  eulogized  them  in  speeches 
at  banquets  given  in  their  honor.  The  people  every 
where  were  open-eyed,  open-eared,  and  open-mouthed  in 
their  welcome  and  eagerness  to  hear  them. 

It  is  a  commentary  upon  the  fickleness  of  popular 
favor  that  the  time  was  so  short  before  these  universal 
favorites  dropped  out  of  popular  attention  and  recol 
lection. 


XXIV 

SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS 

,  The  most  unique  experience  in  my  life  has  been  the 
dinners  given  to  me  by  the  Montauk  Club  of  Brooklyn 
on  my  birthday.  The  Montauk  is  a  social  club  of  high 
standing,  whose  members  are  of  professional  and  busi 
ness  life  and  different  political  and  religious  faiths. 

Thirty  years  ago  Mr.  Charles  A.  Moore  was  president 
of  the  club.  He  was  a  prominent  manufacturer  and  a 
gentleman  of  wide  influence  in  political  and  social  circles. 
Mr.  McKinley  offered  him  the  position  of  secretary  of 
the  navy,  which  Mr.  Moore  declined.  He  came  to  me 
one  day  with  a  committee  from  the  club,  and  said:  "The 
Montauk  wishes  to  celebrate  your  birthday.  We  know 
that  it  is  on  the  23d  of  April,  and  that  you  have  two 
distinguished  colleagues  who  also  have  the  23d  as  their 
birthday — Shakespeare  and  St.  George.  We  do  not  care 
to  include  them,  but  desire  only  to  celebrate  yours." 

The  club  has  continued  these  celebrations  for  thirty 
years  by  an  annual  dinner.  The  ceremonial  of  the  occa 
sion  is  a  reception,  then  dinner,  and,  after  an  introduc 
tion  by  the  president,  a  speech  by  myself.  To  make  a 
new  speech  every  year  which  will  be  of  interest  to  those 
present  and  those  who  read  it,  is  not  easy. 

These  festivities  had  a  fortunate  beginning.  In  think 
ing  over  what  I  should  talk  about  at  the  first  dinner,  I 
decided  to  get  some  fun  out  of  the  municipality  of 
Brooklyn  by  a  picturesque  description  of  its  municipal 
conditions.  It  was  charged  in  the  newspapers  that 

374 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     375 

there  had  been  serious  graft  in  some  public  improve 
ments  which  had  been  condoned  by  the  authorities  and 
excused  by  an  act  of  the  legislature.  It  had  also  been 
charged  that  the  Common  Council  had  been  giving  away 
valuable  franchises  to  their  favorites.  Of  course,  this 
presented  a  fine  field  of  contrast  between  ancient  and 
modern  times.  In  ancient  times  grateful  citizens  erected 
statues  to  eminent  men  who  had  deserved  well  of  their 
country  in  military  or  civic  life,  but  Brooklyn  had  im 
proved  upon  the  ancient  model  through  the  grant  of 
public  utilities.  The  speech  caused  a  riot  after  the  din 
ner  as  to  its  propriety,  ma*ny  taking  the  ground  that  it 
was  a  criticism,  and,  therefore,  inappropriate  to  the 
occasion.  However,  the  affair  illustrated  a  common  ex 
perience  of  mine  that  unexpected  results  will  sometimes 
flow  from  a  bit  of  humor,  if  the  humor  has  concealed  in 
it  a  stick  of  dynamite. 

The  Brooklyn  pulpit,  which  is  the  most  progressive  in 
the  world,  took  the  matter  up  and  aroused  public  dis 
cussion  on  municipal  affairs.  The  result  was  the  forma 
tion  of  a  committee  of  one  hundred  citizens  to  investi 
gate  municipal  conditions.  They  found  that  while  the 
mayor  and  some  other  officials  were  high-toned  and 
admirable  officers,  yet  the  general  administration  of  the 
city  government  had  in  the  course  of  years  become  so 
bad  that  there  should  be  a  general  reformation.  The 
reform  movement  was  successful;  it  spread  over  to  New 
York  and  there  again  succeeded,  and  the  movement  for 
municipal  reform  became  general  in  the  country. 

The  next  anniversary  dinner  attracted  an  audience 
larger  than  the  capacity  of  the  club,  and  every  one  of  the 
thirty  has  been  an  eminent  success.  For  many  years 
the  affair  has  received  wide  publicity  in  the  United 


376  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

States,  and  has  sometimes  been  reported  in  foreign  news 
papers.  I  remember  being  in  London  with  the  late 
Lieutenant-Governor  Woodruff,  when  we  saw  these 
head-lines  at  a  news-stand  on  the  Strand:  "Speech  by 
Chauncey  Depew  at  his  birthday  dinner  at  the  Montauk 
Club,  Brooklyn."  During  this  nearly  third  of  a  cen 
tury  the  membership  of  the  club  has  changed,  sons  have 
succeeded  fathers  and  new  members  have  been  ad 
mitted,  but  the  celebration  seems  to  grow  in  interest. 

During  the  last  fourteen  years  the  president  of  the 
club  has  been  Mr.  William  H.  English.  He  has  done  so 
much  for  the  organization  in  every  way  that  the  mem 
bers  would  like  to  have  him  as  their  executive  officer  for 
life.  Mr.  English  is  a  splendid  type  of  the  American 
who  is  eminently  successful  in  his  chosen  career,  and 
yet  has  outside  interest  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 
Modest  to  a  degree  and  avoiding  publicity,  he  neverthe 
less  is  the  motive  power  of  many  movements  progressive 
and  charitable. 

Twenty-four  years  ago  a  company  of  public-spirited 
women  in  the  city  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  organized  a 
club.  They  named  it  after  me.  For  nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  century  it  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  civic  life 
of  Des  Moines.  It  has  with  courage,  intelligence,  and 
independence  done  excellent  work.  At  the  time  of  its 
organization  there  were  few  if  any  such  organizations  in 
the  country,  and  it  may  claim  the  position  of  pioneer  in 
women's  activity  in  public  affairs. 

Happily  free  from  the  internal  difficulties  and  disputes 
which  so  often  wreck  voluntary  associations,  the  Chaun 
cey  Depew  Club  is  stronger  than  ever.  It  looks  forward 
with  confidence  to  a  successful  celebration  of  its  quarter 
of  a  century. 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     377 

I  have  never  been  able  to  visit  the  club,  but  have  had 
with  it  frequent  and  most  agreeable  correspondence.  It 
always  remembers  my  birthday  in  the  most  gratifying 
way.  I  am  grateful  to  its  members  for  bestowing  upon 
me  one  of  the  most  pleasurable  compliments  of  my  life. 

A  public  dinner  is  a  fine  form  of  testimonial.  I  have 
had  many  in  my  life,  celebrating  other  things  than  my 
birthday.  One  of  the  most  notable  was  given  me  by 
the  citizens  of  Chicago  in  recognition  of  my  efforts  to 
make  their  great  Columbian  exhibition  a  success.  Jus 
tice  John  M.  Harlan  presided,  and  distinguished  men 
were  present  from  different  parts  of  the  country  and 
representing  great  interests.  Probably  the  speech  which 
excited  the  most  comment  was  a  radical  attack  of 
Andrew  Carnegie  on  the  government  of  Great  Britain, 
in  submitting  to  the  authority  of  a  king  or  a  queen. 
Canada  was  represented  by  some  of  the  high  officials  of 
that  self-governing  colony.  The  Canadians  are  more 
loyal  to  the  English  form  of  government  than  the  Eng 
lish  themselves.  My  peppery  Scotch  friend  aroused  a 
Canadian  official,  who  returned  his  assault  with  vigor 
and  interest. 

It  is  a  very  valuable  experience  for  an  American  to 
attend  the  annual  banquet  of  the  American  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  Paris.  The  French  Government  recognizes 
the  affair  by  having  a  company  of  their  most  pictur 
esquely  uniformed  soldiers  standing  guard  both  inside 
and  outside  the  hall.  The  highest  officials  of  the  French 
Government  always  attend  and  make  speeches.  The 
American  Ambassador  replies  in  a  speech  partly  in  Eng 
lish,  and,  if  he  is  sufficiently  equipped,  partly  in  French. 
General  Horace  Porter  and  Henry  White  were  equally 
happy  both  in  their  native  language  and  in  that  of  the 


378  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

French.  The  French  statesmen,  however,  were  so  fond 
of  Myron  T.  Herrick  that  they  apparently  not  only 
grasped  his  cordiality  but  understood  perfectly  his  elo 
quence.  The  honor  has  several  times  been  assigned  to 
me  of  making  the  American  speech  in  unadulterated 
American.  The  French  may  not  have  understood,  but 
with  their  quick  apprehension  the  applause  or  laughter 
of  the  Americans  was  instantly  succeeded  by  equal  mani 
festations  on  the  part  of  the  French. 

Among  the  many  things  which  we  have  inherited  from 
our  English  ancestry  are  public  dinners  and  after-dinner 
speeches.  The  public  dinner  is  of  importance  in  Great 
Britain  and  utilized  for  every  occasion.  It  is  to  the 
government  the  platform  where  the  ministers  can  lay 
frankly  before  the  country  matters  which  they  could  not 
develop  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Through  the  dinner 
speech  they  open  the  way  and  arouse  public  attention 
for  measures  which  they  intend  to  propose  to  Parlia 
ment,  and  in  this  way  bring  the  pressure  of  public 
opinion  to  their  support. 

In  the  same  way  every  guild  and  trade  have  their 
festive  functions  with  serious  purpose,  and  so  have  reli 
gious,  philanthropic,  economic,  and  sociological  move 
ments.  We  have  gone  quite  far  in  this  direction,  but 
have  not  perfected  the  system  as  they  have  on  the  other 
side.  I  have  been  making  after-dinner  speeches  for 
sixty  years  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people,  and  on 
almost  every  conceivable  subject.  I  have  found  these 
occasions  of  great  value  because  under  the  good-fellow 
ship  of  the  occasion  an  unpopular  truth  can  be  sugar- 
coated  with  humor  and  received  with  applause,  while  in 
the  processes  of  digestion  the  next  day  it  is  working  with 
the  audience  and  through  the  press  in  the  way  the  pill 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     379 

was  intended.  A  popular  audience  will  forgive  almost 
anything  with  which  they  do  not  agree,  if  the  humorous 
way  in  which  it  is  put  tickles  their  risibilities. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  very  fine  at  the  lord  mayor's  din 
ner  at  Guild  Hall,  where  the  prime  minister  develops  his 
policies.  So  it  was  with  Lord  Salisbury  and  Balfour, 
but  the  prince  of  after-dinner  speakers  in  England  is 
Lord  Rosebery.  He  has  the  humor,  the  wit,  and  the 
artistic  touch  which  fascinates  and  enraptures  his  audi 
ence. 

I  have  met  in  our  country  all  the  men  of  my  time  who 
have  won  fame  in  this  branch  of  public  address.  The 
most  remarkable  in  effectiveness  and  inspiration  was 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  A  banquet  was  always  a  success 
if  it  could  have  among  its  speakers  William  M.  Evarts, 
Joseph  H.  Choate,  James  S.  Brady,  Judge  John  R. 
Brady,  General  Horace  Porter,  or  Robert  G.  IngersoII. 

After  General  Grant  settled  in  New  York  he  was  fre 
quently  a  guest  at  public  dinners  and  always  produced 
an  impression  by  simple,  direct,  and  effective  oratory. 

General  Sherman,  on  the  other  hand,  was  an  orator  as 
well  as  a  fighter.  He  never  seemed  to  be  prepared,  but 
out  of  the  occasion  would  give  soldierly,  graphic,  and  pic 
turesque  presentations  of  thought  and  description. 

Not  to  have  heard  on  these  occasions  Robert  G.  Inger 
soII  was  to  have  missed  being  for  the  evening  under  the 
spell  of  a  magician.  I  have  been  frequently  asked  if  I 
could  remember  occasions  of  this  kind  which  were  of 
more  than  ordinary  interest. 

After-dinner  oratory,  while  most  attractive  at  the 
time,  is  evanescent,  but  some  incidents  are  interesting 
in  memory.  At  the  time  of  Queen  Victoria's  jubilee  I 
was  present  where  a  representative  of  Canada  was  called 


380  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

upon  for  a  speech.  With  the  exception  of  the  Canadian 
and  myself  the  hosts  and  guests  were  all  English.  My 
Canadian  friend  enlarged  upon  the  wonders  of  his  coun 
try.  A  statement  of  its  marvels  did  not  seem  sufficient 
for  him  unless  it  was  augmented  by  comparisons  with 
other  countries  to  the  glory  of  Canada,  and  so  he  com 
pared  Canada  with  the  United  States.  Canada  had  bet 
ter  and  more  enduring  institutions,  she  had  a  more  virile, 
intelligent,  and  progressive  population,  and  she  had  pro 
tected  herself,  as  the  United  States  did  not,  against  un 
desirable  immigration,  and  in  everything  which  consti 
tuted  an  up-to-date,  progressive,  healthy,  and  hopeful 
commonwealth  she  was  far  in  advance  of  the  United 
States. 

I  was  called  upon  immediately  afterwards  and  said  I 
would  agree  with  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Can 
ada  that  in  one  thing  at  least  Canada  was  superior  to 
the  United  States,  and  it  was  that  she  had  far  more 
land,  but  it  was  mostly  ice.  I  regret  to  remember  that 
my  Canadian  friend  lost  his  temper. 

One  of  the  historical  dinners  of  New  York,  which  no 
one  will  forget  who  was  there,  was  just  after  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War,  or,  as  my  dear  old  friend,  Colonel  Wat- 
terson,  called  it,  "The  War  between  the  States/'  The 
principal  guests  were  General  Sherman  and  Henry  W. 
Grady  of  Atlanta,  Ga.  General  Sherman,  in  his  speech, 
described  the  triumphant  return  of  the  Union  Army  to 
Washington,  its  review  by  the  President,  and  then  its 
officers  and  men  returning  to  private  life  and  resuming 
their  activities  and  industries  as  citizens.  It  was  a  word- 
picture  of  wonderful  and  startling  picturesqueness  and 
power  and  stirred  an  audience,  composed  largely  of  vet 
erans  who  had  been  participants  both  in  the  battles  and 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     381 

in  the  parades,  to  the  highest  degree  of  enthusiasm.  Mr. 
Grady  followed.  He  was  a  young  man  with  rare  ora 
torical  gifts.  He  described  the  return  of  the  Confed 
erate  soldiers  to  their  homes  after  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox.  They  had  been  four  years  fighting  and 
marching.  They  were  ragged  and  poor.  They  returned 
to  homes  and  farms,  many  of  which  had  been  devas 
tated.  They  had  no  capital,  and  rarely  animals  or  farm 
ing  utensils  necessary  to  begin  again.  But  with  superb 
courage,  not  only  on  their  own  part  but  with  the  assis 
tance  of  their  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters,  they  made 
the  desert  land  flourish  and  resurrected  the  country. 

This  remarkable  description  of  Grady,  which  I  only 
outline,  came  as  a  counterpart  to  the  triumphant  epic  of 
General  Sherman.  The  effect  was  electric,  and  beyond 
almost  any  that  have  ever  occurred  in  New  York  or 
anywhere,  and  Grady  sprang  into  international  fame. 

Joseph  H.  Choate  was  a  most  dangerous  fellow  speaker 
to  his  associates  who  spoke  before  him.  I  had  with  him 
many  encounters  during  fifty  years,  and  many  times 
enjoyed  being  the  sufferer  by  his  wit  and  humor.  On 
one  occasion  Choate  won  the  honors  of  the  evening  by 
an  unexpected  attack.  There  is  a  village  in  western 
New  York  which  is  named  after  me.  The  enterprising 
inhabitants,  boring  for  what  might  be  under  the  surface 
of  their  ground,  discovered  natural  gas.  According  to 
American  fashion,  they  immediately  organized  a  com 
pany  and  issued  a  prospectus  for  the  sale  of  the  stock. 
The  prospectus  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Choate.  With 
great  glee  he  read  it  and  then  with  emphasis  the  name 
of  the  company:  "The  Depew  Natural  Gas  Company, 
Limited,"  and  waving  the  prospectus  at  me  shouted: 
"Why  limited?" 


382  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

There  have  been  two  occasions  in  Mr.  Choate's  after- 
dinner  speeches  much  commented  upon  both  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  As  I  was  present  on  both  evenings, 
it  seems  the  facts  ought  to  be  accurately  stated.  The 
annual  dinner  of  the  "Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick" 
occurred  during  one  of  the  years  when  the  Home  Rule 
question  was  most  acute  in  England  and  actively  dis 
cussed  here.  At  the  same  time  our  Irish  fellow  citizens, 
with  their  talent  for  public  life,  had  captured  all  the 
offices  in  New  York  City.  They  had  the  mayor,  the 
majority  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  a  large  majority 
of  the  judges.  When  Mr.  Choate  spoke  he  took  up  the 
Home  Rule  question,  and,  without  indicating  his  own 
views,  said  substantially:  "We  Yankees  used  to  be  able 
to  govern  ourselves,  but  you  Irish  have  come  here  and 
taken  the  government  away  from  us.  You  have  our 
entire  city  administration  in  your  hands,  and  you  do 
with  us  as  you  like.  We  are  deprived  of  Home  Rule. 
Now  what  you  are  clamoring  for  both  at  home  and 
abroad  is  Home  Rule  for  Ireland.  With  such  demon 
strated  ability  in  capturing  the  greatest  city  on  the  west 
ern  continent,  and  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  world,  why 
don't  you  go  back  to  Ireland  and  make,  as  you  would, 
Home  Rule  there  a  success?" 

I  was  called  a  few  minutes  afterwards  to  a  confer 
ence  of  the  leading  Irishmen  present.  I  was  an  hon 
orary  member  of  that  society,  and  they  were  in  a  high 
state  of  indignation.  The  more  radical  thought  that 
Mr.  Choate's  speech  should  be  resented  at  once.  How 
ever,  those  who  appreciated  its  humor  averted  hostile 
action,  but  Mr.  Choate  was  never  invited  to  an  Irish 
banquet  again. 

The  second  historical  occasion  was  when  the  Scotch 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     383 

honored  their  patron  saint,  St.  Andrew.  The  atten 
dance  was  greater  than  ever  before,  and  the  interest  more 
intense  because  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  was  present.  The 
earl  was  at  that  time  Governor-General  of  Canada,  but 
to  the  Scotchmen  he  was  much  more  than  that,  because 
he  was  the  chief  of  the  Clan  Gordon.  The  earl  came 
to  the  dinner  in  full  Highland  costume.  Lady  Aber 
deen  and  the  ladies  of  the  vice-regal  court  were  in  the 
gallery.  I  sat  next  to  the  earl  and  Choate  sat  next 
to  me.  Choate  said:  "Chauncey,  are  Aberdeen's  legs 
bare?"  I  looked  under  the  table-cloth  and  discovered 
that  they  were  naturally  so  because  of  his  costume.  I 
answered:  "Choate,  they  are." 

I  thought  nothing  of  it  until  Choate  began  his  speech, 
in  which  he  said:  "I  was  not  fully  informed  by  the 
committee  of  the  importance  of  the  occasion.  I  did  not 
know  that  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  was  to  be  here  as  a  guest 
of  honor.  I  was  especially  and  unfortunately  ignorant 
that  he  was  coming  in  the  full  panoply  of  his  great  office 
as  chief  of  Clan  Gordon.  If  I  had  known  that  I  would 
have  left  my  trousers  at  home." 

Aberdeen  enjoyed  it,  the  ladies  in  the  gallery  were 
amused,  but  the  Scotch  were  mad,  and  Choate  lost  in 
vitations  to  future  Scotch  dinners. 

Few  appreciate  the  lure  of  the  metropolis.  It  attracts 
the  successful  to  win  greater  success  with  its  larger  op 
portunities.  It  has  resistless  charm  with  the  ambitious 
and  the  enterprising.  New  York,  with  its  suburbs, 
which  are  really  a  part  of  itself,  is  the  largest  city  in  the 
world.  It  is  the  only  true  cosmopolitan  one.  It  has 
more  Irish  than  any  city  in  Ireland,  more  Germans  and 
Italians  than  any  except  the  largest  cities  in  Germany 
or  Italy.  It  has  more  Southerners  than  are  gathered  in 


384  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

any  place  in  any  Southern  State,  and  the  same  is  true  of 
Westerners  and  those  from  the  Pacific  coast  and  New 
England,  except  in  Chicago,  San  Francisco,  or  Boston. 
There  is  also  a  large  contingent  from  the  West  Indies, 
South  America,  and  Canada. 

The  people  who  make  up  the  guests  at  a  great  dinner 
are  the  survival  of  the  fittest  of  these  various  settlers  in 
New  York.  While  thousands  fail  and  go  back  home  or 
drop  by  the  way,  these  men  have  made  their  way  by 
superior  ability,  foresight,  and  adaptability  through  the 
fierce  competitions  of  the  great  city.  They  are  unusu 
ally  keen-witted  and  alert.  For  the  evening  of  the  ban 
quet  they  leave  behind  their  business  and  its  cares  and 
are  bent  on  being  entertained,  amused,  and  instructed. 
They  are  a  most  catholic  audience,  broad-minded,  hos 
pitable,  and  friendly  to  ideas  whether  they  are  in  accord 
with  them  or  not,  providing  they  are  well  presented. 
There  is  one  thing  they  will  not  submit  to,  and  that  is 
being  bored. 

These  functions  are  usually  over  by  midnight,  and 
rarely  last  so  long;  while  out  in  the  country  and  in 
other  towns,  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to  have  a  dinner  with 
speeches  run  along  until  the  early  hours  of  the  next 
morning.  While  public  men,  politicians,  and  aspiring 
orators  seek  their  opportunities  upon  this  platform  in 
New  York,  few  succeed  and  many  fail  It  is  difficult  for 
a  stranger  to  grasp  the  situation  and  adapt  himself  at 
once  to  its  atmosphere.  I  have  narrated  in  preceding 
pages  some  remarkable  successes,  and  will  give  a  few 
instances  of  very  able  and  distinguished  men  who  lost 
touch  of  their  audiences. 

One  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  Senate  was  Senator  John 
T.  Morgan,  of  Alabama.  I  was  fond  of  him  personally 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     385 

and  admired  greatly  his  many  and  varied  talents.  He 
was  a  most  industrious  and  admirable  legislator,  and  a 
debater  of  rare  influence.  He  was  a  master  of  correct 
and  scholarly  English,  and  one  of  the  very  few  who  never 
went  to  the  reporters'  room  to  correct  his  speeches.  As 
they  were  always  perfect,  he  let  them  stand  as  they  were 
delivered. 

Senator  Morgan  was  a  great  card  on  a  famous  occa 
sion  among  the  many  well-known  men  who  were  also  to 
speak.  Senator  Elihu  Root  presided  with  his  usual  dis 
tinction.  Senator  Morgan  had  a  prepared  speech  which 
he  read.  It  was  unusually  long,  but  very  good.  On 
account  of  his  reputation  the  audience  was,  for  such  an 
audience,  wonderfully  patient  and  frequent  and  enthu 
siastic  in  its  applause.  Mistaking  his  favorable  recep 
tion,  Senator  Morgan,  after  he  had  finished  the  manu 
script,  started  in  for  an  extended  talk.  After  the  hour 
had  grown  to  nearly  two,  the  audience  became  impa 
tient,  and  the  senator,  again  mistaking  its  temper, 
thought  they  had  become  hostile  and  announced  that  at 
many  times  and  many  places  he  had  been  met  with 
opposition,  but  that  he  could  not  be  put  down  or 
silenced.  Mr.  Root  did  the  best  he  could  to  keep  the 
peace,  but  the  audience,  who  were  anxious  to  hear  the 
other  speakers,  gave  up  hope  and  began  to  leave,  with 
the  result  that  midnight  saw  an  empty  hall  with  a  pre 
siding  officer  and  an  orator. 

At  another  great  political  dinner  I  sat  beside  Governor 
Oglesby,  of  Illinois.  He  was  famous  as  a  war  governor 
and  as  a  speaker.  There  were  six  speakers  on  the  dai's, 
of  whom  I  was  one.  Happily,  my  turn  came  early* 
The  governor  said  to  me:  "How  much  of  the  gospel  can 
these  tenderfeet  stand?"  "Well,  Governor,"  I  answered, 


386  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

"there  are  six  speakers  to-night,  and  the  audience  will 
not  allow  the  maximum  of  time  occupied  to  be  more 
than  thirty  minutes.  Any  one  who  exceeds  that  will 
lose  his  crowd  and,  worse  than  that,  he  may  be  killed 
by  the  eloquent  gentlemen  who  are  bursting  with  im 
patience  to  get  the  floor,  and  who  are  to  follow  him." 

"Why,"  said  the  governor,  "I  don't  see  how  any  one 
can  get  started  in  thirty  minutes." 

"Well,"  I  cautioned,  "please  do  not  be  too  long." 

When  the  midnight  hour  struck  the  hall  was  again 
practically  empty,  the  governor  in  the  full  tide  of  his 
speech,  which  evidently  would  require  about  three 
hours,  and  the  chairman  declared  the  meeting  adjourned. 

Senator  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  who  was  one  of  the  ap 
pointed  speakers,  told  me  the  next  morning  that  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  where  he  was  stopping,  he  was  just 
getting  into  bed  when  the  governor  burst  into  his  room 
and  fairly  shouted:  "Foraker,  no  wonder  New  York  is 
almost  always  wrong.  You  saw  to-night  that  it  would 
not  listen  to  the  truth.  Now  I  want  to  tell  you  what  I 
intended  to  say."  He  was  shouting  with  impassioned 
eloquence,  his  voice  rising  until,  through  the  open  win 
dows,  it  reached  Madison  Square  Park,  when  the  watch-, 
man  burst  in  and  said:  "Sir,  the  guests  in  this  hotel  will 
not  stand  that  any  longer,  but  if  you  must  finish  your 
speech  I  will  take  you  out  in  the  park." 

During  Cleveland's  administration  one  of  the  New 
York  banquets  became  a  national  affair.  The  principal 
speaker  was  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  Lucius  Q.  C. 
Lamar,  who  afterwards  became  United  States  senator 
and  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Lamar  was  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  cultured  men  in  public  life,  and  a 
fine  orator.  I  was  called  upon  so  late  that  it  was  impos- 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     387 

sible  to  follow  any  longer  the  serious  discussions  of  the 
evening,  and  what  the  management  and  the  audience 
wanted  from  me  was  some  fun. 

Lamar,  with  his  Johnsonian  periods  and  the  lofty 
style  of  Edmund  Burke,  furnished  an  opportunity  for  a 
little  pleasantry.  He  came  to  me,  when  I  had  finished, 
in  great  alarm  and  said:  "My  appearance  here  is  not  an 
ordinary  one  and  does  not  permit  humor.  I  am  sec 
retary  of  the  interior,  and  the  representative  of  the 
president  and  his  administration.  My  speech  is  really 
the  message  of  the  president  to  the  whole  country, 
and  I  wish  you  would  remedy  any  impression  which 
the  country  might  otherwise  receive  from  your  hu 


mor." 


This  I  was  very  glad  to  do,  but  it  was  an  instance  of 
which  I  have  met  many,  of  a  very  distinguished  and 
brilliant  gentleman  taking  himself  too  seriously.  At 
another  rather  solemn  function  of  this  kind  I  performed 
the  same  at  the  request  of  the  management,  but  with 
another  protest  from  the  orator  and  his  enmity. 

In  reminiscing,  after  he  retired  from  the  presidency, 
Mr.  Cleveland  spoke  to  me  of  his  great  respect  and  ad 
miration  for  Mr.  Lamar.  Cleveland's  speeches  were  al 
ways  short.  His  talent  was  for  compression  and  con 
centration,  and  he  could  not  understand  the  necessity 
for  an  effort  of  great  length.  He  told  me  that  while 
Justice  Lamar  was  secretary  of  the  interior  he  came  to 
him  one  day  and  said:  "Mr.  President,  I  have  accepted 
an  invitation  to  deliver  an  address  in  the  South,  and  as 
your  administration  may  be  held  responsible  for  what  I 
say,  I  wish  you  would  read  it  over  and  make  any  correc 
tions  or  suggestions." 

Mr.    Cleveland   said   the  speech  was   extraordinarily 


388  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

long  though  very  good,  and  when  he  returned  it  to  Sec 
retary  Lamar  he  said  to  him:  "That  speech  will  take  at 
least  three  hours  to  deliver.  A  Northern  audience  would 
never  submit  to  over  an  hour.  Don't  you  think  you  had 
better  cut  it  down?"  The  secretary  replied:  "No,  Mr. 
President;  a  Southern  audience  expects  three  hours,  and 
would  be  better  satisfied  with  five." 

Justice  Miller,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  at  that  time,  was  the  principal  speaker 
on  another  occasion.  He  was  ponderous  to  a  degree, 
and  almost  equalled  in  the  emphasis  of  his  utterances 
what  was  once  said  of  Daniel  Webster,  that  every  word 
weighed  twelve  pounds.  I  followed  him.  The  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States,  who  went  back  to  Washing 
ton  the  next  day  with  Justice  Miller,  told  me  that  as 
soon  as  they  had  got  on  the  train  the  justice  commenced 
to  complain  that  I  had  wholly  misunderstood  his  speech, 
and  that  no  exaggeration  of  interpretation  would  war 
rant  what  I  said.  The  judge  saw  no  humor  in  my  little 
effort  to  relieve  the  situation,  and  took  it  as  a  reply  of 
opposing  counsel.  He  said  that  the  justice  took  it  up 
from  another  phase  after  leaving  Philadelphia,  and  re 
sumed  his  explanation  from  another  angle  as  to  what  he 
meant  after  they  reached  Baltimore.  When  the  train 
arrived  at  its  destination  and  they  separated  in  the 
Washington  station,  the  justice  turned  to  the  attorney- 
general  and  said:  "Damn  Depew!  Good-night." 

Such  are  the  perils  of  one  who  good-naturedly  yields 
to  the  importunities  of  a  committee  of  management  who 
fear  the  failure  with  their  audience  of  their  entertain 
ment. 

The  great  dinners  of  New  York  are  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  which  is  a  national  function,  as  were  also  for 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     389 

a  long  time,  during  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Choate,  those 
of  the  New  England  Society.  The  annual  banquets  of 
the  Irish,  Scotch,  English,  Welsh,  Holland,  St.  Nicholas, 
and  the  French,  are  also  most  interesting,  and  some 
times  by  reason  of  the  presence  of  a  national  or  inter 
national  figure,  assume  great  importance.  The  dinner 
which  the  Pilgrims  Society  tenders  to  the  British  am 
bassador  gives  him  an  opportunity,  without  the  formali 
ties  and  conventions  of  his  office,  of  speaking  his  mind 
both  to  the  United  States  and  to  his  own  people. 

The  annual  banquets  of  the  State  societies  are  now 
assuming  greater  importance.  Each  State  has  thousands 
of  men  who  have  been  or  still  are  citizens,  but  who  live 
in  New  York.  Those  dinners  attract  the  leading  poli 
ticians  of  their  several  States.  It  is  a  platform  for  the 
ambitious  to  be  president  and  sometimes  succeeds. 

Garfield  made  a  great  impression  at  one  of  these  State 
dinners,  so  did  Foraker,  and  at  the  last  dinner  of  the 
Ohio  Society  the  star  was  Senator  Warren  G.  Harding. 
On  one  occasion,  when  McKinley  and  Garfield  were 
present,  in  the  course  of  my  speech  I  made  a  remark 
which  has  since  been  adopted  as  a  sort  of  motto  by  the 
Buckeye  State.  Ohio,  I  think,  has  passed  Virginia  as  a 
mother  of  presidents.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  candi 
dates  of  both  great  parties  are  now  of  that  State.  I  said 
in  the  closing  of  my  speech,  alluding  to  the  distinguished 
guests  and  their  prospects:  "Some  men  have  greatness 
thrust  upon  them,  some  are  born  great,  and  some  are 
born  in  Ohio." 

One  of  the  greatest  effects  produced  by  a  speech  was 
by  Henry  Ward  Beecher  at  an  annual  dinner  of  the 
Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick.  At  the  time,  the  Home 
Rule  question  was  more  than  ordinarily  acute  and 


390  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Fenianism  was  rabid.  While  Mr.  Beecher  had  great 
influence  upon  his  audience,  his  audience  had  equal  in 
fluence  upon  him.  As  he  enlarged  upon  the  wrongs  of 
Ireland  the  responses  became  more  enthusiastic  and 
finally  positively  savage.  This  stirred  the  orator  up 
till  he  gave  the  wildest  approval  to  direct  action  and 
revolution,  with  corresponding  cheers  from  the  diners, 
standing  and  cheering.  Mr.  Beecher  was  explaining  that 
speech  for  about  a  year  afterwards.  I  was  a  speaker  on 
the  same  platform. 

Mr.  Beecher  always  arrived  late,  and  everybody 
thought  it  was  to  get  the  applause  as  he  came  in,  but  he 
explained  to  me  that  it  was  due  to  his  method  of  prep 
aration.  He  said  his  mind  would  not  work  freely  until 
three  hours  after  he  had  eaten.  Many  speakers  have 
told  me  the  same  thing.  He  said  when  he  had  a  speech 
to  make  at  night,  whether  it  was  at  a  dinner  or  else 
where,  that  he  took  his  dinner  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
and  then  a  glass  of  milk  and  crackers  at  five  o'clock, 
with  nothing  afterwards.  Then  in  the  evening  his  mind 
was  perfectly  clear  and  under  absolute  control. 

The  Lotos  Club  has  been  for  fifty  years  to  New  York 
what  the  Savage  Club  is  to  London.  It  attracts  as  its 
guests  the  most  eminent  men  of  letters  who  visit  this 
country.  Its  entertainments  are  always  successful.  For 
twenty-nine  years  it  had  for  its  president  Mr.  Frank  R. 
Lawrence,  a  gentleman  with  a  genius  for  introducing 
distinguished  strangers  with  most  felicitous  speeches, 
and  a  committee  who  selected  with  wonderful  judgment 
the  other  speakers  of  the  evening.  A  successor  to  Mr. 
Lawrence,  and  of  equal  merit,  has  been  found  in  Chester 
S.  Lord,  now  president  of  the  Lotos  Club.  Mr.  Lord 
was  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  managing  editor 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     391 

of  the  New  York  Sun,  and  is  now  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

I  remember  one  occasion  where  the  most  tactful  man 
who  ever  appeared  before  his  audience  slipped  his  trol 
ley,  and  that  was  Bishop  Potter.  The  bishop  was  a 
remarkably  fine  preacher  and  an  unusually  attractive 
public  speaker  and  past  master  of  all  the  social  amenities 
of  life.  The  guest  of  the  evening  was  the  famous  Canon 
Kingsley,  author  of  "Hypatia"  and  other  works  at  that 
time  universally  popular.  The  canon  had  the  largest 
and  reddest  nose  one  ever  saw.  The  bishop,  among  the 
pleasantries  of  his  introduction,  alluded  to  this  headlight 
of  religion  and  literature.  The  canon  fell  from  grace 
and  never  forgave  the  bishop. 

On  Lotos  nights  I  have  heard  at  their  best  Lord 
Houghton,  statesman  and  poet,  Mark  Twain,  Stanley 
the  explorer,  and  I  consider  it  one  of  the  distinctions  as 
well  as  pleasures  of  my  life  to  have  been  a  speaker  at 
the  Lotos  on  more  occasions  than  any  one  else  during 
the  last  half  century. 

In  Mr.  Joseph  Pulitzer's  early  struggles  with  his  paper, 
the  New  York  World,  the  editorial  columns  frequently  had 
very  severe  attacks  on  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt  and 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  They  were  part,  of 
course,  of  attacks  upon  monopoly.  I  was  frequently  in 
cluded  in  these  criticisms. 

The  Lotos  Club  gave  a  famous  dinner  to  George 
Augustus  Sala,  the  English  writer  and  journalist.  I 
found  myself  seated  beside  Mr.  Pulitzer,  whom  I  had 
never  met.  When  I  was  called  upon  to  speak  I  intro 
duced,  in  what  I  had  to  say  about  the  distinguished  guest, 
this  bit  of  audacity.  I  said  substantially,  in  addition  to 
Mr.  Sala:  "We  have  with  us  to-night  a  great  journalist 


392  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

who  comes  to  the  metropolis  from  the  wild  and  woolly 
West.  After  he  had  purchased  the  World  he  came  to 
me  and  said,  'Chauncey  Depew,  I  have  a  scheme,  which 
I  am  sure  will  benefit  both  of  us.  Everybody  is  envious 
of  the  prestige  of  the  New  York  Central  and  the  wealth 
of  Mr.  Vanderbilt.  You  are  known  as  his  principal  ad 
viser.  Now,  if  in  my  general  hostility  to  monopoly  I  in 
clude  Mr.  Vanderbilt  and  the  New  York  Central  as  prin 
cipal  offenders,  I  must  include  you,  because  you  are  the 
champion  in  your  official  relationship  of  the  corporation 
and  of  its  policies  and  activities.  I  do  not  want  you  to 
have  any  feeling  against  me  because  of  this.  The  policy 
will  secure  for  the  World  everybody  who  is  not  a  stock 
holder  in  the  New  York  Central,  or  does  not  possess  mil 
lions  of  money.  When  Mr.  Vanderbilt  finds  that  you 
are  attacked,  he  is  a  gentleman  and  broad-minded  enough 
to  compensate  you  and  will  grant  to  you  both  significant 
promotion  and  a  large  increase  in  salary."  Then  I 
added:  "Well,  gentlemen,  I  have  only  to  say  that  Mr. 
Pulitzer's  experiment  has  been  eminently  successful.  He 
has  made  his  newspaper  a  recognized  power  and  a  nota 
ble  organ  of  public  opinion;  its  fortunes  are  made  and 
so  are  his,  and,  in  regard  to  myself,  all  he  predicted  has 
come  true,  both  in  promotion  and  in  enlargement  of 
income."  When  I  sat  down  Mr.  Pulitzer  grasped  me 
by  the  hand  and  said:  "Chauncey  Depew,  you  are  a 
mighty  good  fellow.  I  have  been  misinformed  about 
you.  You  will  have  friendly  treatment  hereafter  in  any 
newspaper  which  I  control." 

The  Gridiron  Club  of  Washington,  because  of  both  its 
ability  and  genius  and  especially  its  national  position, 
furnishes  a  wonderful  platform  for  statesmen.  Its  genius 
in  creating  caricatures  and  fake  pageants  of  current  po- 


SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS     393 

litical  situations  at  the  capital  and  its  public  men  is  most 
remarkable.  The  president  always  attends,  and  most  of 
the  Cabinet  and  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
ambassadors  and  representatives  of  the  leading  govern 
ments  represented  in  Washington  are  guests,  and  so  are 
the  best-known  senators  and  representatives  of  the  time. 
The  motto  of  the  club  is  "Reporters  are  never  present. 
Ladies  always  present."  Though  the  association  is  made 
up  entirely  of  reporters,  the  secrecy  is  so  well  kept  that 
the  speakers  are  unusually  frank. 

There  was  a  famous  contest  one  night  there,  however, 
between  President  Roosevelt  and  Senator  Foraker,  who 
at  the  time  were  intensely  antagonistic,  which  can  never 
be  forgotten  by  those  present.  There  was  a  delightful 
interplay  between  William  J.  Bryan  and  President 
Roosevelt,  when  Bryan  charged  the  president  with  steal 
ing  all  his  policies  and  ideas. 

If  the  speaker  grasped  the  peculiarities  of  his  audience 
and  its  temperament,  his  task  was  at  once  the  most  difficult 
and  the  most  delightful,  and  my  friend,  Mr.  Arthur  Dunn, 
has  performed  most  useful  service  in  embalming  a  portion 
of  Gridiron  history  in  his  volume,  "Gridiron  Nights." 

Pierpont  Morgan,  the  greatest  of  American  bankers, 
was  much  more  than  a  banker.  He  had  a  wonderful  col 
lection  in  his  library  and  elsewhere  of  rare  books  and 
works  of  art.  He  was  always  delightful  on  the  social 
side.  He  was  very  much  pleased  when  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  New  England  Society.  The  annual  din 
ner  that  year  was  a  remarkably  brilliant  affair.  It  was 
the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  organization.  The  prin 
cipal  speaker  was  William  Everett,  son  of  the  famous 
Edward  Everett  and  himself  a  scholar  of  great  acquire 
ments  and  culture.  His  speech  was  another  evidence  of 


394  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

a  very  superior  man  mistaking  his  audience.  He  was 
principal  of  the  Adams  Academy,  that  great  prepara 
tory  institution  for  Harvard  University,  and  he  had 
greatly  enlarged  its  scope  and  usefulness. 

Mr.  Everett  evidently  thought  that  the  guests  of  the 
New  England  Society  of  New  York  would  be  composed 
of  men  of  letters,  educators,  and  Harvard  graduates. 
Instead  of  that,  the  audience  before  him  were  mainly 
bankers  and  successful  business  men  whose  Puritan 
characteristics  had  enabled  them  to  win  great  success  in 
the  competitions  in  the  great  metropolis  in  every  branch 
of  business.  They  were  out  for  a  good  time  and  little  else. 

Mr.  Everett  produced  a  ponderous  mass  of  manuscript 
and  began  reading  on  the  history  of  New  England  educa 
tion  and  the  influence  upon  it  of  the  Cambridge  School. 
He  had  more  than  an  hour  of  material  and  lost  his  audi 
ence  in  fifteen  minutes.  No  efforts  of  the  chairman 
could  bring  them  to  attention,  and  finally  the  educator 
lost  that  control  of  himself  which  he  was  always  teach 
ing  to  the  boys  and  threw  his  manuscript  at  the  heads 
of  the  reporters.  From  their  reports  in  their  various 
newspapers  the  next  day,  they  did  not  seem  to  have  ab 
sorbed  the  speech  by  this  original  method. 

Choate  and  I  were  both  to  speak,  and  Choate  came 
first.  As  usual,  he  threw  a  brick  at  me.  He  mentioned 
that  a  reporter  had  come  to  him  and  said:  "Mr.  Choate, 
I  have  Depew's  speech  carefully  prepared,  with  the  ap 
plause  and  laughter  already  in.  I  want  yours."  Of 
course,  no  reporter  had  been  to  either  of  us.  Mr. 
Choate  had  in  his  speech  an  unusual  thing  for  him,  a 
long  piece  of  poetry.  When  my  turn  came  to  reply  I 
said:  "The  reporter  came  to  me,  as  Mr.  Choate  has  said, 
and  made  the  remark:  'I  already  have  Choate's  speech. 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     395 

It  has  in  it  a  good  deal  of  poetry.'  I  asked  the  reporter: 
'  From  what  author  is  the  poetry  taken  ? '  He  answered : 
'I  do  not  know  the  author,  but  the  poetry  is  so  bad  I 
think  Choate  has  written  it  himself." 

Mr.  Choate  told  me  a  delightful  story  of  his  last  inter 
view  with  Mr.  Evarts  before  he  sailed  for  Europe  to  take 
up  his  ambassadorship  at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  "I 
called,"  he  said,  "on  Mr.  Evarts  to  bid  him  good-by. 
He  had  been  confined  to  his  room  by  a  fatal  illness  for 
a  long  time.  *  Choate,'  he  said,  "I  am  delighted  with 
your  appointment.  You  eminently  deserve  it,  and  you 
are  pre-eminently  fit  for  the  place.  You  have  won  the 
greatest  distinction  in  our  profession,  and  have  har 
vested  enough  of  its  rewards  to  enable  you  to  meet  the 
financial  responsibilities  of  this  post  without  anxiety. 
You  will  have  a  most  brilliant  and  useful  career  in  diplo 
macy,  but  I  fear  I  will  never  see  you  again." 

Mr.  Choate  said:  "Mr.  Evarts,  we  have  had  a  delight 
ful  partnership  of  over  forty  years,  and  when  I  retire 
from  diplomacy  and  resume  the  practice  of  the  law  I 
am  sure  you  and  I  will  go  on  together  again  for  many 
years  in  the  same  happy  old  way." 

Evarts  replied:  "No,  Choate,  I  fear  that  cannot  be. 
When  I  think  what  a  care  I  am  to  all  my  people,  lying 
so  helpless  here,  and  that  I  can  do  nothing  any  more  to 
repay  their  kindness,  or  to  help  in  the  world,  I  feel  like 
the  boy  who  wrote  from  school  to  his  mother  a  letter  of 
twenty  pages,  and  then  added  after  the  end:  'P.  S.  Dear 
mother,  please  excuse  my  longevity." 

Where  one  has  a  reputation  as  a  speaker  and  is  alsa 
known  to  oblige  friends  and  to  be  hardly  able  to  resist 
importunities,  the  demands  upon  him  are  very  great. 
They  are  also  sometimes  original  and  unique. 


396  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

At  one  time,  the  day  before  Christmas,  a  representa 
tive  of  the  New  York  World  came  to  see  me  and  said: 
"We  are  going  to  give  a  dinner  to-night  to  the  tramps 
who  gather  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  at  the  Vienna 
Restaurant,  opposite  the  St.  Denis  Hotel,  to  receive  the 
bread  which  the  restaurant  distributes  at  that  hour." 
This  line  was  there  every  night  standing  in  the  cold 
waiting  their  turn.  I  went  down  to  the  hotel,  and  a 
young  man  and  young  lady  connected  with  the  news 
paper  crossed  the  street  and  picked  out  from  the  line  a 
hundred  guests. 

It  was  a  remarkable  assemblage.  The  dinner  pro 
vided  was  a  beautiful  and  an  excellent  one  for  Christmas. 
As  I  heard  their  stories,  there  was  among  them  a  repre 
sentative  of  almost  every  department  of  American  life. 
Some  were  temporarily  and  others  permanently  down 
and  out.  Every  one  of  the  learned  professions  was  rep 
resented  and  many  lines  of  business.  The  most  of  them 
were  in  this  condition,  because  they  had  come  to  New 
York  to  make  their  way,  and  had  struggled  until  their 
funds  were  exhausted,  and  then  they  were  ashamed  to 
return  home  and  confess  their  failure. 

I  presided  at  this  remarkable  banquet  and  made  not 
only  one  speech  but  several.  By  encouraging  the  guests 
we  had  several  excellent  addresses  from  preachers  with 
out  pulpits,  lawyers  without  clients,  doctors  without 
patients,  engineers  without  jobs,  teachers  without 
schools,  and  travellers  without  funds.  One  man  arose 
and  said:  "Chauncey  Depew,  the  World  has  given  us 
such  an  excellent  dinner,  and  you  have  given  us  such  a 
merry  Christmas  Eve,  we  would  like  to  shake  hands 
with  you  as  we  go  out." 

I  had  long  learned  the  art  of  shaking  hands  with  the 


SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS     397 

public.  Many  a  candidate  has  had  his  hands  crushed 
and  been  permanently  hurt  by  the  vise-like  grip  of  an 
ardent  admirer  or  a  vicious  opponent.  I  remember  Gen 
eral  Grant  complaining  of  this,  of  how  he  suffered,  and 
I  told  him  of  my  discovery  of  grasping  the  hand  first 
and  dropping  it  quickly. 

The  people  about  me  were  looking  at  these  men  as 
they  came  along,  to  see  if  there  was  any  possible  dan 
ger.  Toward  the  end  of  the  procession  one  man  said  to 
me:  "Chauncey  Depew,  I  don't  belong  to  this  crowd.  I 
am  well  enough  off  and  can  take  care  of  myself.  I  am 
an  anarchist.  My  business  is  to  stir  up  unrest  and  dis 
content,  and  that  brings  me  every  night  to  mingle  with 
the  crowd  waiting  for  their  dole  of  bread  from  Fleisch- 
mann's  bakery.  You  do  more  than  any  one  else  in  the 
whole  country  to  create  good  feeling  and  dispel  unrest, 
and  you  have  done  a  lot  of  it  to-night.  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  kill  you  right  here,  but  you  are  such  an  infernal 
good  fellow  that  I  have  not  the  heart  to  do  it,  so  here's 
my  hand." 

On  one  occasion  I  received  an  invitation  to  address  a 
sociological  society  which  was  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
one  of  the  most  famous  entertainers  in  New  York.  My 
host  said  that  Edward  Atkinson,  the  well-known  New 
England  writer,  philosopher,  and  sociologist,  would  ad 
dress  the  meeting.  When  I  arrived  at  the  house  I  found 
Atkinson  in  despair.  The  audience  were  young  ladies 
in  full  evening  dress  and  young  men  in  white  vests,  white 
neckties,  and  swallow-tails.  There  was  also  a  band 
present.  We  were  informed  that  this  society  had  en 
deavored  to  mingle  instruction  with  pleasure,  and  it 
really  was  a  dancing  club,  but  they  had  conceived  the  idea 
of  having  something  serious  and  instructive  before  the  ball. 


398  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

Mr.  Atkinson  said  to  me:  "What  won  me  to  come 
here  is  that  in  Boston  we  have  a  society  of  the  same 
name.  It  is  composed  of  very  serious  people  who  are 
engaged  in  settlement  and  sociological  work.  They  are 
doing  their  best  to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  young 
women  and  young  men  who  are  in  clerical  and  other 
employment.  I  have  delivered  several  addresses  before 
that  society,  and  before  the  audiences  which  they  gather, 
on  how  to  live  comfortably  and  get  married  on  the 
smallest  possible  margin.  Now,  for  instance,  for  my  lec 
ture  here  to-night  I  have  on  a  ready-made  suit  of  clothes, 
for  which  I  paid  yesterday  five  dollars.  In  that  large 
boiler  there  is  a  stove  which  I  have  invented.  In  the 
oven  of  the  stove  is  beef  and  various  vegetables,  and  to 
heat  it  is  a  kerosene  lamp  with  a  clockwork  attached.  A 
young  man  or  a  young  woman,  or  a  young  married 
couple  go  to  the  market  and  buy  the  cheap  cuts  of  beef, 
and  then,  according  to  my  instructions,  they  put  it  in 
the  stove  with  the  vegetables,  light  the  lamp,  set  the 
clockwork  and  go  to  their  work.  When  they  return  at 
five,  six,  or  seven  o'clock  they  find  a  very  excellent  and 
very  cheap  dinner  all  ready  to  be  served.  Now,  of  what 
use  is  my  five-dollar  suit  of  clothes  and  my  fifty-cent 
dinner  for  this  crowd  of  butterflies?" 

However,  Mr.  Atkinson  and  I  made  up  our  minds  to 
talk  to  them  as  if  they  needed  it  or  would  need  it  some 
day  or  other,  and  they  were  polite  enough  to  ask  ques 
tions  and  pretend  to  enjoy  it.  I  understand  that  after 
wards  at  the  midnight  supper  there  was  more  cham 
pagne  and  more  hilarity  than  at  previous  gatherings  of 
this  sociological  club. 

During  one  of  our  presidential  campaigns  some  young 
men  came  up  from  the  Bowery  to  see  me.  They  said: 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     399 

"We  have  a  very  hard  time  down  in  our  district.  The 
crowd  is  a  tough  one  but  intelligent,  and  we  think  would 
be  receptive  of  the  truth  if  they  could  hear  it  put  to 
them  in  an  attractive  form.  We  will  engage  a  large 
theatre  attached  to  a  Bowery  beer  saloon  if  you  will 
come  down  and  address  the  meeting.  The  novelty  of 
your  appearance  will  fill  the  theatre." 

I  knew  there  was  considerable  risk,  and  yet  it  was  a 
great  opportunity.  I  believe  that  in  meeting  a  crowd 
of  that  sort  one  should  appear  as  they  expect  him  to 
look  when  addressing  the  best  of  audiences.  These  peo 
ple  are  very  proud,  and  they  resent  any  attempt  on  your 
part  to  be  what  they  know  you  are  not,  but  that  you  are 
coming  down  to  their  level  by  assuming  a  character 
which  you  presume  to  be  theirs.  So  I  dressed  with  un 
usual  care,  and  when  I  went  on  the  platform  a  short- 
sleeved,  short-haired  genius  in  the  theatre  shouted: 
"Chauncey  thinks  he  is  in  Carnegie  Hall." 

The  famous  Tim  Sullivan,  who  was  several  times  a 
state  senator  and  congressman,  and  a  mighty  good  fel 
low,  was  the  leader  of  the  Bowery  and  controlled  its 
political  actions.  He  came  to  see  me  and  said:  "I  hope 
you  will  withdraw  from  that  appointment.  I  do  not 
want  you  to  come  down  there.  In  the  first  place,  I  can 
not  protect  you,  and  I  don't  think  it  is  safe.  In  the 
second  place,  you  are  so  well  known  and  popular  among 
our  people  that  I  am  afraid  you  will  produce  an  impres 
sion,  and  if  you  get  away  with  it  that  will  hurt  our 
machine." 

In  the  course  of  my  speech  a  man  arose  whom  I  knew 
very  well  as  a  district  leader,  and  who  was  frequently  in 
my  office,  seeking  positions  for  his  constituents  and  other 
favors.  That  night  he  was  in  his  shirt-sleeves  among 


400  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

the  boys.  With  the  old  volunteer  fireman's  swagger  and 
the  peculiar  patois  of  that  part  of  New  York,  he  said: 
"Chauncey  Depew,  you  have  no  business  here.  You 
are  the  president  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad, 
ain't  you,  hey?  You  are  a  rich  man,  ain't  you,  hey? 
We  are  poor  boys.  You  don't  know  us  and  can't  teach 
us  anything.  You  had  better  get  out  while  you  can." 

My  reply  was  this:  "My  friend,  I  want  a  little  talk 
with  you.  I  began  life  very  much  as  you  did.  Nobody 
helped  me.  I  was  a  country  boy  and  my  capital  was 
this  head,"  and  I  slapped  it,  "these  legs,"  and  I  slapped 
them,  "these  hands,"  and  I  slapped  them,  "and  by 
using  them  as  best  I  could  I  have  become  just  what  you 
say  I  am  and  have  got  where  you  will  never  arrive." 

A  shirt-sleeved  citizen  jumped  up  from  the  audience 
and  shouted:  "Go  ahead,  Chauncey,  you're  a  peach." 
That  characterization  of  a  peach  went  into  the  news 
papers  and  was  attached  to  me  wherever  I  appeared  for 
many  years  afterwards,  not  only  in  this  country  but 
abroad.  It  even  found  a  place  in  the  slang  column  of 
the  great  dictionaries  of  the  English  language.  The 
result  of  the  meeting,  however,  was  a  free  discussion  in 
the  Bowery,  and  for  the  first  time  in  its  history  that  par 
ticular  district  was  carried  by  the  Republicans. 

After  their  triumph  in  the  election  I  gave  a  dinner  in 
the  Union  League  Club  to  the  captains  of  the  election 
districts.  There  were  about  a  hundred  of  them.  The 
district  captains  were  all  in  their  usual  business  suits, 
and  were  as  sharp,  keen,  intelligent,  and  up-to-date 
young  men  as  one  could  wish  to  meet.  The  club  mem 
bers  whom  I  had  invited  to  meet  my  guests  were,  of 
course,  in  conventional  evening  dress.  The  novelty  of 
the  occasion  was  so  enjoyed  by  them  that  they  indulged 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     401 

with  more  than  usual  liberality  in  the  fluids  and  fizz  and 
became  very  hilarious.  Not  one  of  the  district  captains 
touched  a  drop  of  wine. 

While  the  club  members  were  a  little  frightened  at  the 
idea  of  these  East-siders  coming,  my  guests  understood 
and  met  every  convention  of  the  occasion  before,  during, 
and  after  dinner,  as  if  it  was  an  accustomed  social  func 
tion  with  them.  The  half  dozen  who  made  speeches 
showed  a  grasp  of  the  political  questions  of  the  hour  and 
an  ability  to  put  their  views  before  an  audience  which 
was  an  exhibition  of  a  high  order  of  intelligence  and  self- 
culture. 

In  selecting  a  few  out-of-the-way  occasions  which  were 
also  most  interesting  and  instructive,  I  recall  one  with  a 
society  which  prided  itself  upon  its  absence  of  narrow 
ness  and  its  freedom  of  thought  and  discussion.  The 
speakers  were  most  critical  of  all  that  is  generally 
accepted  and  believed.  Professor  John  Fiske,  the  his 
torian,  was  the  most  famous  man  present,  and  very 
critical  of  the  Bible.  My  good  mother  had  brought  me 
up  on  the  Bible  and  instilled  in  me  the  deepest  reverence 
for  the  good  book.  The  criticism  of  the  professor  stirred 
me  to  a  rejoinder.  I,  of  course,  was  in  no  way  equal  to 
meeting  him,  with  his  vast  erudition  and  scholarly 
accomplishments.  I  could  only  give  what  the  Bible 
critic  would  regard  as  valueless,  a  sledge-hammer  ex 
pression  of  faith.  Somebody  took  the  speech  down. 
Doctor  John  Hall,  the  famous  preacher  and  for  many 
years  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, 
told  me  that  the  Bible  and  the  church  societies  in  Eng 
land  had  put  the  speech  into  a  leaflet,  and  were  distrib 
uting  many  millions  of  them  in  the  British  Isles. 

It  is  singular  what  vogue  and  circulation  a  story  of  the 


402  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

hour  will  receive.  Usually  these  decorations  of  a  speech 
die  with  the  occasion.  There  was  fierce  rivalry  when  it 
was  decided  to  celebrate  the  four  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  landing  of  Columbus  in  America,  between  New 
York  and  Chicago,  as  to  which  should  have  the  exhibi 
tion.  Of  course  the  Western  orators  were  not  modest  in 
the  claims  which  they  made  for  the  City  by  the  Lakes. 
To  dampen  their  ardor  I  embroidered  the  following 
story,  which  took  wonderfully  when  told  in  my  speech. 
It  was  at  the  Eagle  Hotel  in  Peekskill,  at  which  it  was 
said  George  Washington  stopped  many  times  as  a  guest 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  where  in  respect  to  his 
memory  they  preserved  the  traditions  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  period.  At  that  time  the  bill  of  fare  was  not 
printed,  but  the  waiter  announced  to  the  guest  what 
would  be  served,  if  asked  for.  A  Chicago  citizen  was 
dining  at  the  hotel.  He  ordered  each  of  the  many  items 
announced  to  him  by  the  waiter.  When  he  came  to  the 
deserts  the  waiter  said:  "We  have  mince-pie,  apple- 
pie,  pumpkin-pie,  and  custard-pie."  The  Chicago  man 
ordered  mince-pie,  apple-pie,  and  pumpkin-pie.  The 
disgusted  waiter  remarked:  "What  is  the  matter  with 
the  custard?"  Alongside  me  sat  a  very  well-known 
English  gentleman  of  high  rank,  who  had  come  to  this 
country  on  a  sort  of  missionary  and  evangelistic  errand. 
Of  course,  he  was  as  solemn  as  the  task  he  had  under 
taken,  which  was  to  convert  American  sinners.  He 
turned  suddenly  to  me  and,  in  a  loud  voice,  asked: 
"What  was  the  matter  with  the  custard-pie?"  The 
story  travelled  for  years,  was  used  for  many  purposes, 
was  often  murdered  in  the  narration,  but  managed  to 
survive,  and  was  told  to  me  as  an  original  joke  by  one 
of  the  men  I  met  at  the  convention  last  June  in  Chicago. 


SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS     403 

After  Chicago  received  from  Congress  the  appoint 
ment  I  did  all  I  could  to  help  the  legislation  and  appro 
priations  necessary.  The  result  was  that  when  I  visited 
the  city  as  an  orator  at  the  opening  of  the  exhibition  I 
was  voted  the  freedom  of  the  city,  was  given  a  great 
reception,  and  among  other  things  reviewed  the  school 
children  who  paraded  in  my  honor. 

The  Yale  alumni  of  New  York  City  had  for  many 
years  an  organization.  In  the  early  days  the  members 
met  very  infrequently  at  a  dinner.  This  was  a  formal 
affair,  and  generally  drew  a  large  gathering,  both  of 
the  local  alumni  and  from  the  college  and  the  country. 
These  meetings  were  held  at  Delmonico's,  then  located 
in  Fourteenth  Street.  The  last  was  so  phenomenally 
dull  that  there  were  no  repetitions. 

The  speakers  were  called  by  classes,  and  the  oldest  in 
graduation  had  the  platform.  The  result  was  disastrous. 
These  old  men  all  spoke  too  long,  and  it  was  an  endless 
stream  of  platitudes  and  reminiscences  of  forgotten  days 
until  nearly  morning.  Then  an  inspiration  of  the  chair 
man  led  him  to  say:  "I  think  it  might  be  well  to  have  a 
word  from  the  younger  graduates." 

There  was  a  unanimous  call  for  a  well-known  humorist 
named  Styles.  His  humor  was  aided  by  a  startling  ap 
pearance  of  abundant  red  hair,  an  aggressive  red  mus 
tache,  and  eyes  which  seemed  to  push  his  glasses  off  his 
nose.  Many  of  the  speakers,  owing  to  the  imperfection 
of  the  dental  art  in  those  days,  indicated  their  false  teeth 
by  their  trouble  in  keeping  them  in  place,  and  the  whis 
tling  it  gave  to  their  utterances.  One  venerable  orator 
in  his  excitement  dropped  his  into  his  tumbler  in  the 
midst  of  his  address. 

Styles  said  to  this  tired  audience:  "At  this  early  hour 


404  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

in  the  morning  I  will  not  attempt  to  speak,  but  I  will 
tell  a  story.  Down  at  Barnegat,  N.  J.,  where  I  live,  our 
neighbors  are  very  fond  of  apple-jack.  One  of  them 
while  in  town  had  his  jug  filled,  and  on  the  way  home 
saw  a  friend  leaning  over  the  gate  and  looking  so  thirsty 
that  he  stopped  and  handed  over  his  jug  with  an  offer  of 
its  hospitality.  After  sampling  it  the  neighbor  con 
tinued  the  gurgling  as  the  jug  rose  higher  and  higher, 
until  there  was  not  a  drop  left  in  it.  The  indignant 
owner  said:  'You  infernal  hog,  why  did  you  drink  up  all 
my  apple-jack?'  His  friend  answered:  (l  beg  your  par 
don,  Job,  but  I  could  not  bite  off  the  tap,  because  I  have 
lost  all  my  teeth.' '  The  aptness  of  the  story  was  the 
success  of  the  evening. 

Some  years  afterwards  there  was  a  meeting  of  the 
alumni  to  form  a  live  association.  Among  those  who 
participated  in  the  organization  were  William  Walter 
Phelps,  afterwards  member  of  Congress  and  minister  to 
Austria;  Judge  Henry  E.  Howland;  John  Proctor  Clarke, 
now  chief  justice  of  the  Appellate  Division;  James  R. 
Sheffield  (several  years  later)  now  president  of  the  Union 
League  Club;  and  Isaac  Bromley,  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  New  York  Tribune,  one  of  the  wittiest  writers  of  his 
time,  and  many  others  who  have  since  won  dintinction. 
They  elected  me  president,  and  I  continued  such  by 
successive  elections  for  ten  years. 

The  association  met  once  a  month  and  had  a  serious 
paper  read,  speeches,  a  simple  supper,  and  a  social  eve 
ning.  These  monthly  gatherings  became  a  feature  and 
were  widely  reported  in  the  press.  We  could  rely  upon 
one  or  more  of  the  faculty,  and  there  was  always  to  be 
had  an  alumnus  of  national  reputation  from  abroad. 
We  had  a  formal  annual  dinner,  which  was  more  largely 


SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS     405 

attended  than  almost  any  function  of  the  kind  in  the 
city,  and,  because  of  the  variety  and  excellence  of  the 
speaking,  always  very  enjoyable. 

The  Harvard  and  Princeton  alumni  also  had  an  asso 
ciation  at  that  time,  with  annual  dinners,  and  it  was 
customary  for  the  officers  of  each  of  these  organizations 
to  be  guests  of  the  one  which  gave  the  dinner.  The 
presidents  of  the  colleges  represented  always  came. 
Yale  could  rely  upon  President  Dwight,  Harvard  upon 
President  Eliot,  and  Princeton  upon  President  McCosh. 

Of  course,  the  interchanges  between  the  representa 
tives  of  the  different  colleges  were  as  exciting  and  aggres 
sive  as  their  football  and  baseball  contests  are  to-day. 
I  recall  one  occasion  of  more  than  usual  interest.  It  was 
the  Princeton  dinner,  and  the  outstanding  figure  of  the 
occasion  was  that  most  successful  and  impressive  of  col 
lege  executives,  President  McCosh.  He  spoke  with  a 
broad  Scotch  accent  and  was  in  every  sense  a  literalist. 
Late  in  the  evening  Mr.  Beaman,  a  very  brilliant  lawyer 
and  partner  of  Evarts  and  Choate,  who  was  president  of 
the  Harvard  Alumni  Association,  said  to  me:  "These 
proceedings  are  fearfully  prosaic  and  highbrow.  When 
you  are  called,  you  attack  President  McCosh,  and  I  will 
defend  him."  So  in  the  course  of  my  remarks,  which 
were  highly  complimentary  to  Princeton  and  its  rapid 
growth  under  President  McCosh,  I  spoke  of  its  remark 
able  success  in  receiving  gifts  and  legacies,  which  were 
then  pouring  into  its  treasury  every  few  months,  and 
were  far  beyond  anything  which  came  either  to  Yale  or 
Harvard,  though  both  were  in  great  need.  Then  I 
hinted  that  possibly  this  flow  of  riches  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  President  McCosh  had  such  an  hypnotic  influ 
ence  over  the  graduates  of  Princeton  and  their  fathers, 


406  CHAUNCEY  M.   DEPEW 

mothers,  and  wives  that  none  of  them  felt  there  was  a 
chance  of  a  heavenly  future  unless  Princeton  was  among 
the  heirs. 

Mr.  Beaman  was  very  indignant  and  with  the  con 
tinuing  approval  and  applause  of  the  venerable  doctor 
made  a  furious  attack  upon  me.  His  defense  of  the 
president  was  infinitely  worse  than  my  attack.  He 
alleged  that  I  had  intimated  that  the  doctor  kept  tab 
on  sick  alumni  of  wealth  and  their  families,  and  at  the 
critical  moment  there  would  be  a  sympathetic  call  from 
the  doctor,  and,  while  at  the  bedside  he  administered 
comfort  and  consolation,  yet  he  made  it  plain  to  the 
patient  that  he  could  not  hope  for  the  opening  of  the 
pearly  gates  or  the  welcome  of  St.  Peter  unless  Princeton 
was  remembered.  Then  Beaman,  in  a  fine  burst  of  ora 
tory,  ascribed  this  wonderful  prosperity  not  to  any  per 
sonal  effort  or  appeal,  but  because  the  sons  of  Princeton 
felt  such  reverence  and  gratitude  for  their  president  that 
they  were  only  too  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  contribute 
to  the  welfare  of  the  institution. 

The  moment  Beaman  sat  down  the  doctor  arose,  and 
with  great  intensity  expressed  his  thanks  and  gratitude 
to  the  eloquent  president  of  the  Harvard  alumni,  and 
then  shouted:  "I  never,  never,  never  solicited  a  gift  for 
Princeton  from  a  dying  man.  I  never,  never,  never  sat 
by  the  bedside  of  a  dying  woman  and  held  up  the  terrors 
of  hell  and  the  promises  of  heaven,  according  to  the  dis 
position  she  made  of  her  estate.  I  never,  never  looked 
with  unsympathetic  and  eager  anticipation  whenever 
any  of  our  wealthy  alumni  appeared  in  ill  health." 

The  doctor,  however,  retaliated  subsequently.  He  in 
vited  me  to  deliver  a  lecture  before  the  college,  and 
entertained  me  most  delightfully  at  his  house.  It  was 


SOCIETIES  AND   PUBLIC  BANQUETS     407 

a  paid  admission,  and  when  I  left  in  the  morning  he 
said:  "I  want  to  express  to  you  on  behalf  of  our  college 
our  thanks.  We  raised  last  evening  through  your  lec 
ture  enough  to  fit  our  ball  team  for  its  coming  contest 
with  Yale,"  In  that  contest  Princeton  was  trium 
phant. 

The  Yale  Alumni  Association  subsequently  evoluted 
into  the  Yale  Club  of  New  York,  which  has  in  every  way 
been  phenomenally  prosperous.  It  is  a  factor  of  national 
importance  in  supporting  Yale  and  keeping  alive  every 
where  appreciation  and  enthusiasm  for  and  practice  of 
Yale  spirit. 

My  class  of  1856  at  Yale  numbered  ninety-seven  on 
graduation.  Only  six  of  us  survive.  In  these  pages 
I  have  had  a  continuous  class  meeting.  Very  few,  if 
any,  of  my  associates  in  the  New  York  Legislature  of 
1862  and  1863  are  alive,  and  none  of  the  State  officers 
who  served  with  me  in  the  succeeding  years.  There  is 
no  one  left  in  the  service  who  was  there  when  I  became 
connected  with  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  and  no 
executive  officer  in  any  railroad  in  the  United  States 
who  held  that  position  when  I  was  elected  and  is  still 
active. 

It  is  the  habit  of  age  to  dwell  on  the  degeneracy  of 
the  times  and  lament  the  good  old  days  and  their  su 
periority,  but  Yale  is  infinitely  greater  and  broader 
than  when  I  graduated  sixty-five  years  ago.  The  New 
York  Legislature  and  State  executives  are  governing  an 
empire  compared  with  the  problems  which  we  had  to 
solve  fifty-nine  years  ago. 

I  believe  in  the  necessity  of  leadership,  and  while 
recognizing  a  higher  general  average  in  public  life,  re 
gret  that  the  world  crisis  through  which  we  have  passed 


4o8  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

and  which  is  not  yet  completed,  has  produced  no  Wash 
ington,  Lincoln,  or  Roosevelt.  I  rejoice  that  President 
Harding,  under  the  pressure  of  his  unequalled  responsi 
bilities,  is  developing  the  highest  qualities  of  leadership. 
It  is  an  exquisite  delight  to  visualize  each  administra 
tion  from  1856  and  to  have  had  considerable  intimacy 
with  the  leaders  in  government  and  the  moulders  of 
public  opinion  during  sixty-five  unusually  laborious 
years. 

Many  who  have  given  their  reminiscences  have  kept 
close  continuing  diaries.  From  these  voluminous  records 
they  have  selected  according  to  their  judgment.  As  I 
have  before  said,  I  have  no  data  and  must  rely  on  my 
memory.  This  faculty  is  not  logical,  its  operations  are 
not  by  years  or  periods,  but  its  films  unroll  as  they  are 
moved  by  association  of  ideas  and  events. 

It  has  been  a  most  pleasurable  task  to  bring  back  into 
my  life  these  worthies  of  the  past  and  to  live  over  again 
events  of  greater  or  lesser  importance.  Sometimes  an 
anecdote  illumines  a  character  more  than  a  biography, 
and  a  personal  incident  helps  an  understanding  of  a 
period  more  than  its  formal  history. 

Life  has  had  for  me  immeasurable  charms.  I  recog 
nize  at  all  times  there  has  been  granted  to  me  the  loving 
care  and  guidance  of  God.  My  sorrows  have  been  al 
leviated  and  lost  their  acuteness  from  a  firm  belief  in 
closer  reunion  in  eternity.  My  misfortunes,  disappoint 
ments,  and  losses  have  been  met  and  overcome  by  abun 
dant  proof  of  my  mother's  faith  and  teaching  that  they 
were  the  discipline  of  Providence  for  my  own  good,  and 
if  met  in  that  spirit  and  with  redoubled  effort  to  redeem 
the  apparent  tragedy  they  would  prove  to  be  blessings. 
Such  has  been  the  case. 


SOCIETIES  AND  PUBLIC  BANQUETS     409 

While  new  friends  are  not  the  same  as  old  ones,  yet  I 
have  found  cheer  and  inspiration  in  the  close  communion 
with  the  young  of  succeeding  generations.  They  have 
made  and  are  making  this  a  mighty  good  world  for 
me. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aberdeen,  Earl  of,  383 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  91,  191 

Alden,  278,  279 

Aldrich,  Senator  Nelson  W.,  180,  190 

Alger,  General  Russell  A.,  219 

Andrew,  Governor,  333,  334 

Andrews,  Rufus  F.,  58,  59 

Appleton,  Colonel,  218,  219 

Arnold,  Matthew,  369-371 

Arthur  [Chief,  Locomotive  Brother 
hood],  245 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  101;  Chapter  IX, 
116-123 

Asquith,  Mrs.  Margot  Tennent,  263 

Astor,  Mrs.  John  Jacob,  359 

Athenaeum  Club,  307,  308 

Atkinson,  Edward,  397,  398 

Bacon,  Reverend  Doctor,  16 

Bacon,  Senator,  175 

Bailey,  Senator  Joseph  W.,  183 

Balfour,  Arthur  J.,  196 

Barlow,  General  Francis  C.,  40 

Barnum,  P.  T.,  364,  365 

Beaman,  C.  C.,  405,  406 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  313,  323-327, 

379,  389,  390 
Bell,  Professor,  354,  355 
Bennett,  James  Gordon,  345,  346 
Beresford,  Admiral  Lord  Charles,  279, 

280 

Beveridge,  Senator  Albert  J.,  183 
Bigelow,  John,  216 
Bissell,  C.  M.,  253,  254 
Black,  Governor  Frank  S.,  160,  161, 

218,  219 
Blaine,  James  G.,  85,  100,  121,    130, 

J34,    139;    Chapter   XII,    141-146; 

266,  267,  285,  286 
Bliss,  William,  235 
Booth,  Edwin,  358,  359 
Brady,  Judge  John  T.,  70 
Brewer,  Justice  David  J.,  5 
Brewer,  Doctor  James,  n 


Bromley,  Isaac,  404 

Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers, 

245-248 

Brown,  Justice  Henry  Billings,  5 
Brown,  John  Mason,  6 
Brown,  W.  C.,  250 
Browning,  Robert,  193-195 
Bruce,  General,  335-337 
Bryan,  William  Jennings,  152,  153 
Buckley,  Doctor,  215,  216 
Buffalo  Evening  News,  344 
Burchard,  Reverend  Doctor,  144,  145 
Burlingame,  Anson,  43—45 
Burroughs,  G.  H.,  253 
Burt,  Silas  W.,  101 
Butler,  Edward  H.,  344 
Butterfield,  John,  53 

Caldwell,  D.  W.,  238 

Callaway,  Samuel  R.,  250 

Callicot,  T.  C.,  24-26 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  377 

Carter,  Senator,  180,  181,  187,  188 

Cassatt,  A.  J.,  237,  238 

Cassini,  Ambassador,  197,  198 

Catherine  of  Russia,  197 

Century  Club,  372 

Chamberlain,  Joseph,  261,  262 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  65-67,  106 

Choate,  Joseph  H.,  106,  200-202,  381- 

383,  394,  395 
Churchill,  Lord  and  Lady  Randolph, 

268,  269 

Civil  Service  Association,  117 
Clark,  Erastus,  83 
Clarke,  Horace  F.,  330,  331 
Clarke,  Justice  John  Proctor,  404 
Clarkson,  James  S.,  135 
Clay,  Senator  Clement  C.,  61 
Clay,  Henry,  139,  141 
Clemens,  Samu°l,  see  Twain,  Mark 
Cleveland,  Grover,  Chapter  X,   124- 

128;  285,  387 
Coleridge,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  206,  207 


INDEX 


Conkling,  Senator  Roscoe,  35;  Chapter 
V,  75-86;  99,  100,  103,  in,  112,  120, 
122,  123 

Cook,  Charles,  28 

Coolidge,  Vice-President  Calvin,  177, 
342 

Cork,  Lady,  291,  292 

Cornell,  Governor  Alonzo  B.,  101,  218 

Corwin,  Thomas,  321,  322 

Crane,  Senator  W.  M.,  183 

Curtin,  Governor  Andrew  G.,  31,  32 

Curtis,  George  William,  17,  70,  79-81, 

3i8,  319 
Czolgosz,  Leon,  156 

Daly,  Augustin,  363,  368,  369 

Daly,  Judge  Charles  P.,  70 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  344,  345 

d'Aumale,  Duke,  304-306 

Davenport,  Fanny,  364 

Davies,  Professor,  47 

Davis,  Senator  Jeff.,  184,  185 

Davis,  Jefferson,  62 

Dawson,  George,  119 

Depew  Club,  376,  377 

Depew,    Mrs.    [mother    of    Chauncey 

M.  Depew],  10,  n 
Dickens,  Charles,  II,  12 
Dickinson,  Daniel  S.,  60,  61,  333-335 
Disraeli,  Benjamin,  274,  303 
Dix,  John  A.,  95,  96 
Dunn,  Arthur,  393 
Dwight,  President  Timothy,  8 

Edward  VII,  276,  278,  282-284,  287- 

290,  292,  293 
Elkins,  Stephen  B.,  138 
English,  William  H.,  376 
Evarts,  William  M.,  Chapter  VII,  99- 

106;  395 
Everett,  William,  393,  394 

Farragut,  Admiral,  63,  64 

Farrar,  Canon,  306,  307 

Fenton,  Governor  Reuben  E.f  34,  35, 

77,84 

Fink,  Commissioner  Albert,  234 
Fisher,  Lord  John,  281 
Fiske,  Professor  John,  401 
Fitzgerald,  General  Louis,  218,  219 
Flower,  Roswell  P.,  220-224 


Foraker,  Senator  Joseph  B.,  149,  183, 

386,  389 

Forney,  John  W.,  32 
Foster,  John  W.,  139 
Frye,  Senator,  178-180 

Ganson,  John,  59 

Garfield,  James  A.,  Chapter  VIII,  107- 

115;  121,  317,  341,  389 
Garrett,  John  W.,  231,  232,  234,  239 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  313 
Gibbs,  Frederick,  158,  159 
Gillett,  Speaker  Frederick  H.,  342 
Gladstone,  256-261,  263-266,  274,  299, 

379 

Gladstone,  Mrs.,  260 
Gould,  Jay,  350 
Grady,  Henry  W.,  380,  381 
Grant,  General  Frederick  D.,  71,  72 
Grant,    General    Ulysses    S.,    49-51; 

Chapter  IV,  67-74;  75~77,  95,  99, 

111,277,278,379 
Graves,  247 
Greeley,  Horace,  12,  23, 62,  63;  Chapter 

VI,  87-98;  356,  357 
Gridiron  Club,  1 8 1,  182,  392,  393 
Griscom,  Clement  A.,  178,  179 
Griswold,  John  A.,  88 
Grow,  Galusha  A.,  34 

Hadley,  Professor,  7 

Hale,  Senator  Eugene,  185 

Hall,  Doctor  John,  401 

Hancock,  General,  107,  108 

Hanna,  Senator  Mark,  147,  149,  150, 

157,  168,  184 
Harding,   President  Warren  G.,   177, 

340-342,  389,  408 
Harlem  Railroad,  227,  229 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  Chapter  XI,  129- 

140 

Hastings,  Hugh  J.,  328,  329 
Hay,  John,  196,  197 
Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  Chapter  VII, 

99-106;  117,  125 
Herrick,  Ambassador  Myron  T.,  311, 

378 

Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  216,  217,  299-301 
Hill,  Governor  David  B.,  219,  220 
Hiscock,  Senator  Frank,  134 
Hoar,  Senator  George  F.,  122,  181 


INDEX 


415 


Hobart,  Vice-President,  156 

Homburg,  282,  283 

Hopkins,  Johns,  239 

Hoppin,  William  J.,  191,  192 

Howard,  Bronson,  366 

Howland,  Judge  Henry  E.,  404 

Hubbard,  Gardner,  354 

Hudson  River  Railroad,  226,  227,  229, 

230 

Hughes,  Secretary  Charles  E.,  339 
Hughitt,  Marvin,  254 
Hurlburt,  William  H.,  244 
Husted,  General  James  W.,  137 

Ingalls,  Senator  John  J.,  219 
Ingalls,  Melville  E.,  235,  236 
Ingersoll,  Colonel  Robert  G.,  100,  309, 

319-321,  379 

Irving,  Sir  Henry,  301-303 
Irving,  Washington,  361 
Ismay,  J.  Bruce,  276 

James,  General  Thomas  L.,  84 

Japan,  45 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  360 

Jerome,  Leonard,  268 

Jerome,  William,  268 

Johnson  [Secretary  of  State  Commit 
tee],  119 

Johnson,  President  Andrew,  46-50,  60, 
61 

Jones,  George,  67,  68 

Kernan,  Senator  Francis,  93 
King,  John,  239 
Kingsley,  Canon,  391 
Knights  of  Labor,  246-248 

Labouchere,  Henry,  260,  261 

Lamar,  Lucius  Q.  C,  386-388 

Lamed,  Professor,  7 

Lawrence  [of  State  Committee],  80,  81 

Lawrence,  Frank  R.,  390 

Ledyard,  Henry  B.,  235 

Leighton,  Sir  Frederick,  303,  304 

Leo  XIII,  295-297 

Liliuokalani,  Queen,  279 

Lincoln,    Abraham,    27,    28;    Chapter 

III,  52-66;  108,  114,  316,  317,  327 
Lincoln,  Robert  T.,  260,  261 
Livingstone,  David,  372 


Lodge,  Senator  Henry  Cabot,  183 

Logan,  General  John  A.,  206 

Lord,  Chester  S.,  390 

Lotus  Club,  372,  390,  391 

Lowden,  Governor,  341 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  191,  204,  205, 

262,  263 
Lucy,  Sir  Henry,  308,  309 

McCosh,  President  James,  405 
McCulloch,  Secretary  Hugh,  47,  48 
McKinley,  William,  137;  Chapter XIII, 

147-157;  164 
MacVeagh,  Attorney-General  Wayne, 

5,  6,  31,  120,  322,  323 
Manchester,  Duke  of,  285,  286 
Mansfield,  Richard,  361-363 
Mayer,  Charles  F.,  239 
Merritt,  General  Edwin  A.,  101 
Merry  del  Val,  Cardinal,  296 
Miller,  Justice,  388 
Miller,  Warner,  131 
Montauk  Club,  374-376 
Moore,  Charles  H.,  374 
Morgan,  Senator  Edwin  D.,  20,  25 
Morgan,  Senator  John  T.,  384,  385 
Morgan,  Pierpont,  241,  393 
Morton,  Governor  Levi  P.,  147,  218, 

220 
Murphy,  Thomas,  69 

New  York  Central  Railroad,  Chapter 

XVIII,  225-255 
New  York  Herald,  345,  346 
New  York  Sun,  344 
New  York  Times,  67,  68 
New  York  Tribune,  93 
New  York  World,  244,  391,  392,  396 
Newell,  John,  235 
Newman,  William  H.,  250 
Nye,  Senator  James  W.,  73,  336,  337 

Odell,  Governor,  65 
Oglesby,  Governor,  385,  386 
Olmstead,  Professor,  8 
Orton,  William,  355 

Peekskill  Academy,  3,  4 
Peekskill-on-the-Hudson,    3,    4,    225, 

326,  402 
Phelps,  Edward  J.,  192,  193,  195 


INDEX 


Phelps,  Mrs.  Edward  J.,  195 

Phelps,  William  Walter,  404 

Philippe,  Louis,  304,  305 

Phillips,  Wendell,  313-315 

Platt,  Senator  Thomas  C,  85,  112,  113, 

129,  131,  134,  135,  160 
Porter,  General  Horace,  377 
Potter,  Bishop,  391 
Potter,  William,  298 
Priest,  Major  Zenas,  253 
Princeton  University,  405-407 
Proctor,  Senator  Redfield,    148,  271, 

272 
Pulitzer,  Joseph,  244,  391,  392 

Quay,  Matthew,  107,  135 

Ralph,  Julian,  346,  347 

Randolph,  John,  318 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,  20-23,  331 

Reed,  John,  81 

Rehan,  Ada,  364,  369 

Reid,  Ambassador  Whitelaw,  198-200 

Richmond,  Dean,  22,  35-37 

Roberts,  George  B.,  237,  238 

Robertson,  Senator  William  H.,  60,  61, 

112,  113 

Robinson,  Governor  Lucius,  218 
Roosevelt,    Theodore,     156;    Chapter 

XIV,  158-174;  176,  199 
Root,  Senator  Elihu,  117,  156,  385 
Rosebery,   Lord,   257,   258,  267,  268, 

286,  379 

Rothschild,  Baron  Alfred,  269-271 
Rothschild,  Ferdinand,  195 
Rutter,  James  H.,  242 

Sackville-West,  Lord,  284,  285 

Sage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell,  348-350 

Salisbury,  Lord,  298 

Saratoga  Conference,  231-234 

Schell,  Augustus,  353 

Schurz,  Carl,  91 

Scott,  Colonel  Thomas  A.,  231,  232,  244 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  361 

Selden,  Henry  R.,  92 

Seward,  Secretary  William  H.,  42,  43, 

56,  57,  60,  61,  331,  332 
Seymour,  Governor  Horatio,   17,  23, 

27-29»  35,  36,  38,  41 1  42,  64 
Shafer,  Seaator,  36 


Shah  of  Persia,  194,  195 

Sheffield,  James  R.,  404 

Sheridan,  General  Philip,  30,  31,  71 

Sherman,  General,  50,  51,  63,  64,  379. 

380 

Sherman,  James  S.,  175-177 
Sherman,  Secretary  John,  101 
Slocum,  General  Henry  W.,  40 
Smith,  Alfred  H.,  250 
Spencer,  Earl,  266 
Spooner,  Senator  John  C.,  183 
Spurgeon,  Charles,  306,  307 
Stanley,  Sir  Henry,  372,  373 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  53-55 
Storrs,  Emory,  120,  202-208 
Sullivan,  Tim,  399,  400 
Sutherland,  Duke  of,  194,  195 

Taft,  Chief  Justice  William  Howard, 

174,  176,  177,  339 
Terry,  Ellen,  358 
Thackeray,  William  Makepeace,  371, 

372 

Thatcher,  Professor,  8 
Thomas,  E.  B.,  239 
Thompson,  Frank,  237 
Thompson,  Sir  Henry,  272,  273 
Thompson,  Senator  Jacob,  61 
Thurston,  John  M.,  167 
Tilden,  Governor  Samuel  J.,  105,  209, 

218 

Tillinghast,  37,  38 

Tillman,  Senator  Benjamin,  181-183 
Tilton,  Theodore,  326 
Toucey,  John  M.,  251,  252 
Trunk  Line  Association,  241 
Twain,  Mark,  72,  291-295 
Tweed,  William  M.,  209 
Twichell,  Doctor  Joseph,  291 

Union  League  Club,  400,  401 

Vallandigham,  Clement  L.,  28,  29,  64 

Van  Buren,  John,  41 

Vance,  Zebulon,  126 

Vanderbilt,   Commodore,    14,   37,   38, 

91,  92,  97,  227-^232,  234,  239 
Vanderbilt,  William  H.,  229,  240-244 
Victor  Emmanuel  III,  298 
Victoria,  Queen,  273-279 
Voorhees,  Theo.,  251 


INDEX 


Wadsworth,  General  James  W.,  23 
Wagner,  Senator  Webster,  120 
Waite,  Chief  Justice  Morrison  R.,  106 
Washburne,    Congressman    Elihu    B., 

54,  55,  63 

Washington,  George,  305, 402 
Webb,  H.  Walter,  251 
Webster,  Daniel,  21,  22,  328-331 
Weed,  Thurlow,  19,  20,  23 
Welles,  Gideon,  56 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  309 
Wells,  Edward,  14 
West  Shore  Railroad,  242,  243 
White,  Andrew  D.,  5,  6,  78 


White,  Henry,  377 

Whitman,  Governor  Charles  S.,  340, 

34i 

William  II,  173,  174,  276,  277 
Wilson,  Senator  Henry,  332,  333 
Wilson,  President  Woodrow,  158,  189 
Wood,  General  Leonard,  341 
Woolsey,  President  Theodore  D.,  6 
Wyndham,  365,  366 


Yale  Alumni  Association,  403,  404,  407 
Yale  University,  4-9,  313 
Young,  John  Russell,  88 


•H 


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